The Riddle Solver
by Anonymous.Crystal
Summary: Continuation of "The Riddler". Summary to come? ...?
1. Answer

Actually... Anon can decide not to tell the answer. Once Riddle Solver reach certain point, you'd know which of the answers are correct from the plotline. It's an important point, because she's the 'Riddler Who Won't Solve Riddles', and you are 'Riddle Solvers Who Can't Solve Riddles'.

At least... not completely. As prove, none of you are sure of the answer, yes?

Although some of you are right.

Most of you made it halfway.

I don't know if you guys who reached the answer tackled the riddles with logic or not. If you do, and you found it without my hints, then you are genius. If you used my hints, then you're smart. If you just guessed, then you're lucky.

I'm guessing most of you are tempted to be called a genius, like written in the guidelines though, because most of the answers posted in the reviews rarely mention my hints.

I was an idiot. I won't deny it. I couldn't answer most of Anon's riddle. I find it impossible. Thus, I asked her to let me provide additional hints to help you who're stuck like me. Because in some cases, the hints from Anon are admittedly completely useless... Or even act as a trap! I'm glad to see that mine seems to help some of you. And I apologize to some of you who finds it as confusing (or even more confusing) than Anon's.

ANYWAY!

Let's start the answer sheet!

(ML) S x N (HM)

Okay. Most of you are correct on the letters in the bracket. Add the fact that Anon's clue was Minato, then, the only answer possible is Magnet! Someone thought the same thing I did. Anon was talking about Soraru when she made the riddle, so I had thought that I was supposed to find a cover by him and a random singer in NND, but turns out S x N meants South x North.

Yeah...

My clue is Originality, which was the reason you can't find it at that time. Moving on!

Blue + Yellow = …

Green. BUT, because the clue was Ichigyou-P, who created Gekokujou, in which the Kagamines refer Miku as the Green, I answered it Miku at first, just like most of you. And then, Anon said...

'How can Blue + Yellow equals Miku? O_o'

I facepalmed.

I really did.

And so, my clue was Reality, since... well, in reality, you can't make Miku by combining blue and yellow.

sigh

The hint was iroha. I wrote in the guidelines that you should be able to find the answers if you look in the right places, and... Vocaloid wikia is the perfect place for these riddles. If you go to iroha's PRODUCER page, you'll find 'sigh' to be the latest song he uploaded. Since Iroha is also name of a Vocaloid, my hint was Stomach Ache, which was his... uhm... honorary producer title? And as clue that neither of us care if you find 'sigh' sung by Vocaloid Iroha, or if you find someone made her sigh.

And so the right answer is 12. Suicide. Yeeey~

Now, let me tell you the answers of the other riddles.

It has no meaning

Ah, this should be an easy one... Garuna is an alias for Owata-P, maker of the famous Benzene series. My clue was Finished, which is english for Owata, because you have to look at the latest song for the series, which is Toluene. In there, Luka said that the songs have meaning.

The case of the corpse in the hallway

I made this one actually... Following Anon's trend in making the Producers of songs she used as inspiration as hints, I put in Yuyoyuppe. Kinda inspired by Hope. So, the answer is the police was right. If the founder isn't related to the murder, he would have tripped because he couldn't have noticed the corpse. He said he walked, turned the light on, and found the body behind him. And so, he's suspicious. The clue was blindness because of it. The police realized this fact when the power was out.

Canvas number

Yeah... This is a bit confusing for me too. Apparently Anon has this belief that art room should have unlimited number of canvas, while I answered one at first because art room in my school had no canvas at all. And so, my clue was Possibility, since it's endless. It can be one, it can be a lot...

Someone actually made more sense. The last words there could mean that Anon wasn't asking about how many canvases the couple painted, but rather how many were there in the art room. Even though, Anon didn't mean it that way... as far as I'm concerned... Good thing she's right!

A-O EEIEIEIEEIEEEEEEEEEEII A-O EEEEIIEEEEEEEIEEEEEEEE

Easiest one for me. Perhaps because I am a fan of Kagamine, and thus know FireFlower by heart. And... it wasn't made by DF. Halyosy made it. The clue was Festival because it's where most fireworks can be seen in Japan. I wanted to write fireworks at first, but I didn't want to make it too easy for any of you. By the way, japanese word for fireworks is hanabi, which is written with kanji of flower and fire. Thus, FireFlower.

And there you are... Mind you, at the end Anon practically screamed IT'S A TRAAP!

Now, which is the trap here?

3 and 6, were they the traps? Or perhaps the answer itself is a trap? Or maybe what I give you here is a trap, a trick to keep you away from the true answer?

You'll know in due time... maybe. Perhaps. Let's hope so.

NOW ON TO THE STORY!


	2. Prologue

*** I washed my hair with soap today D: ***

* * *

**_Prologue_**

25th of July 1890, London, England.

It was a usual summer day. The sky was cloudless blue, the sun was shining so brightly and radiating heat that felt hotter than fire.

Or at least, it was what it felt like for a certain teal haired innkeeper.

"Ah, man… It's really _hot_." Miku wiped the sweat pouring down her forehead. She tightened the grip on her shopping bags a sea of crowd right in front of her; as much as the teal love shopping, a crowded market was never her best friend. Especially in a ridiculously hot summer where people's sweat ar- she should stop thinking about that, it made her feel disgusted.

"I thought you once said to me… You _love_ summer…?"

Rin asked from behind her. She was also holding shopping bags, but Miku insisted that she held less despite Rin's intention to help her shopping.

"The only reason why I love summer is because it reminds me of… You know, the fireflies, the clear night sky, and the fact that my birthday is near. I never said I _love_ the heat." Right… Miku's birthday was on August. Mikuo told her once. He said forgetting Miku's birthday would be one of many reasons that could make her kill him.

And so he fled before that could happen. Miku's getting older, and as there would be a time when saying 'Happy Birthday' to a girl means 'Ha! You're getting old!', he really didn't know what to do.

Or so he said. Rin wasn't sure if he was joking or not.

Remembering Mikuo who's already left made Rin remembered everyone else who also went away after Ted's execution. Meiko and Gakupo had returned to Japan. The samurai was obviously worried about his sister Gumi, but Rin wasn't sure why Meiko went along with him. Although Rin wasn't sure why Gakupo came with her either.

Sure Meiko came as a tourist, and Rin understood why she'd leave after all the stressful events, but... she had thought that Meiko would stay and help Len finish up the case.

If it could be called a case.

It all started as a favor. It's more of a personal investigation than a case. Len, the one-armed detective who was also Rin's employer, said he was just helping Kaito investigating an organization, when it turned out the said organization was apparently the cause of his every misfortune.

Let's just say the realization made his luck even worse.

And everything spiraled out of control.

In the end, what saved them was... Ted, the supposedly bad guy. He gave advices about the organization and took the blame for the burnings that Len (and one by Kaito) did. When Len, being a good detective he was, wanted to tied up loose ends by asking him more though, he found that someone had erased Ted's memories of the biggest mystery of all.

Who Rin was.

Someone gave a warning. He said Len had to stop looking. Obviously, it only made him even more curious. He then asked Kaito to look up some information about that man and the organization he was in, but the blue haired man just left.

He didn't say where and why he moved, or how to contact him, and Len was so mad about it. It's mainly because he hadn't done his job, thus cut out Len's ways to investigate the organization. The detective hated unsolved cases.

Rin's grip on the shopping bags tightened, and it was noticed by Miku. She let out a sigh. Rin had been gloomy since Kaito left. Even though Miku was glad that the troublemaker was gone, his absence really brought up new problems. Mainly to Rin's employer, but still Rin was obviously affected by it.

"By the way, let's stop at Luka's café for a bit. I need a cold drink _now_." Rin agreed and simply nodded at her.

Miku sighed once more.

If only the riddle could be solved...


	3. Request

*** So... Any song requests? ***

* * *

_**Chapter 1: Request**_

25th of July 1890

01:40 PM

"Welcome." A monotone voice came to greet the two customers. There, a pink haired bartender stood while stirring a cup of who-knows-what. Miku twitched. She had forgotten about another person who had become depressed once everyone went away.

The difference with Rin was... Luka's depression might cause harm to other people.

One time Miku caught her stirring up a mixture of juice, coffee, and milk… Luka simply replied she had no customers and was just bored. None of her customers had been poisoned to date, so Miku and Rin had nothing to worry about. Not that there were any customers in the first place.

"Hi, Luka. What's that there?" Miku put down the shopping bags and sat on the bar.

"Milk." Miku and Rin bent over to see the cup purple.

"… It's purple."

"Milk is _one_ of the ingredients. So, the usual?" Luka pour the purple milk down the sink and prepared Miku and Rin's usual choices.

"I can't remember when you started mixing those things… Luka, has boredom finally got into you?" Sure, Miku could say that; at least the café wasn't a complete dump.

"It started just a month ago, I think. And I don't think boredom has anything to do with it." She shrugged.

"No, no, no. It's just not like you to be _that_ weird. A month ago…" A lot happened a month ago. Miku couldn't summarize it all in two or three sentences. The only positive thing she could take out from _that _case is… Well, a lot of people stayed in the inn thanks to that. First there was that annoying Kaito, then there was Meiko and Gakupo… Oh, that's right.

"Long distance relationship is really hard, huh?" She smirked.

"Hahah." Luka gave a sarcastic laugh and served them their drinks. "I added cucumbers on your tea, Miku." Hearing that, Miku nearly spat out her drinks.

"… Not bad I guess." Miku continued to drink. "So, how is your love life? What does he say in his letters? What did you say in _your_ letters? Still formal? Informal? How many kids are you planning, here? When was the last time you wrote back? O-"

"He hasn't replied any of my letters."

"… Oh…" They sat in an awkward silence for an entire five seconds until Luka sighed. Now Miku knew why she gave her the cucumber tea earlier.

"He's probably busy anyway, it's nothing." She pouted.

"That's a _great_ way to look at things!" Miku patted her back. "What about you, Rin? Anything interesting?"

"... you mean about my love life?"

"Luka's newest dri- Yes, of course I meant your love life!" Miku laughed, a bit surprise Rin didn't stir the conversation away.

"… I really can't tell myself... It's just that, these days…" The café door opened, and it interrupted their conversation. Luka's gloomy face turned bright in an instant as she greeted the customer.

"Welc-"

"-pant-Excuse me, but can I _**please**_ hang a poster here? It's really important!" It was a girl, around Rin's age judging from her curves… Only, there's just something childish about her face that made her look thirteen. Her pink hair was tied back, her dress was... It looked expensive, but it was a mess, and the girl simply couldn't wait for an answer; she put up the poster before Luka could answer her..

"Okay then." Luka simply said with a shrug, she took a peek and read a few lines from the poster. A simple poster of a missing cat. "Go on, Rin." Luka left the table, looking at Miku and Rin, it made her want to drink as well.

"These days… Whenever I arrive at the mansion, he's always asleep." Miku waited long until she figured out… That was that, _that _was what Rin wanted to talk to them about.

"So?"

"That doesn't usually happen, I'm a bit worried…" Rin drank her half empty/full iced tea. "It means, he doesn't get enough sleep at night." Miku still couldn't understand the problem.

"Why? We're not handling any cases right now, so he should have a good night sleep, I mean… Unless, … He's busy doing something, at night… But, I don't know…"

"Does this happen every day, or…?" Luka returned with her drink (which Miku bet 10 pounds had cucumber in it) and sat with them.

"At first, not really. Now it happens every day, and… A few days ago I saw him asleep on the sofa with his arm on."

"…So?" Rin had to understand Miku isn't so bright, or, rather, she knows nothing of Len in the first place.

"He usually sleeps _without_ his artificial arm. He never wears his arm on the mansion, he only uses it when he's out."

"Ah..." Hearing that Miku nodded in understanding.

"If you're really that curious, you should just ask him. You two are friends, right?" Luka calmly suggested the obvious.

"I disagree. That master of yours is being really suspicious and if it's caused by a case similar to _that_ last one, I don't want you to be involved. Why can't you just solve cases like, like…" Miku noticed the girl who was still putting the poster up, of the missing cat. "Why can't you solve every day-like-cases, like that. A missing cat, completely normal and _safe_."

The girl turned around, she looked somewhat interested in the subject.

"Wait... your master can solve cases? You're like... a detective or something?"

She went over and looked at Miku in the eye… _Real_ close.

"No, it's my friend, Rin. Rin's job, she's a detective's assistant, so-"

"Can you _really_ help me?" Iroha took Rin's hands, ready to beg on her knees. Must be _some_ important cat…

"I'm not sure if Len would accept a case like that…" Rin scratched the back of her head, wondering how Len would respond to her request.

"Ignore her, I'm sure he would accept it!" Miku interrupted. Rin gave her a 'why did you just say that…' face and watched as that girl jump up and down.

"Take me there! The reward is really big, you won't regret it!" The girl -forcefully- pulled Rin out of the café, leaving Miku and Luka speechless.

"What _is_ the reward?" Luka read the half hung poster on the wall. "Let's see… The reward is…" She didn't know whether it was a joke or not, and thus only motioned her friend to see for herself. Miku finished her drink and stood next to her.

"It looks she's ready to give up her life for that cat."

* * *

01:55 PM

"I'm not sure if he'll say yes… I mean, this case is just too…" Saying that, Rin didn't know _why_ she was taking that girl to Len's mansion with her. Well, it was all Miku's fault.

"If it's so easy for that boss of yours, then he should solve it in a few seconds!" Even though Rin didn't finish her sentence, she seemed to know what's on her mind anyway. Realizing this, Rin sigh. That girl had confidence… Too much of them. And sometimes having so many isn't good for a man/woman.

"Ah, see, Ms…What's your n-"

"Iroha."

"Yes, Iroha… My 'boss' is a bit, how do I put it…" Rin wasn't sure why, but something about that missing cat case just… To put it simply:

1. She had a bad feeling about it.

2. She knows Len for over half a year, and she knows him well enough to say he'll reject the case for the obvious reason. Why bother trying?

"What? I don't care how much money he wants, I just want to find my cat!" If Iroha wants to go there so badly… Then there really was _nothing_ Rin could do. Len would just say no anyway, she already warned her it won't work, and Iroha was too stubborn to listen.

"How long have you been looking for your cat? You can always ask the police for thi-"

"I already _did_. It's been a week since I saw my cat one day I came home from work and she just… She just _disappeared_. I don't know how and why but it just did and it's just that this never happened to me before and what if she got hit by a carriage? What if some peasants eat her or hurt her, it's driving me insane! Do you know what it feels like to lose something really important to you?" She spoke without a pause… When did she get the chance to breathe through all that? Must be some lungs.

"You shouldn't panic like that, you know? It makes things more complicated than it is now… Bad things happen when you panic." Was the only thing Rin could say to her in that kind of situation. Len's mansion was just a few blocks away… And just seeing that adorable innocent face crying for her cat, … It made Rin want to help her.

Wow. The "bad feeling about this case" disappeared for a second there.

"It's hard to relax when the possibility is _**endless**_!"

"I'm sure your cat is fine out there, animals have those… Kind of instincts, right? And besides, cats have _nine_ lives."

"I don't want her to lose _any_ of her lives! What kind of master am I to ignore just _one_ life?" Bad move, Rin shouldn't have said that.

"It's just an expression Iroha, don't take it so seriously… I'm sure we'll find your cat in no ti-"

"So you'll take up the case?" Her face lit up; bad, horrible, _stupid_ move. Why did she have to say _we_? Great… Rin just made her believe in false hope, there's no way Len would say _yes_ to that kind of case.

"Don't get too excited, I'm not the detective! You have to ask my boss first." Rin stopped. That was fast, there it was. "There's a chance he might still be asleep. If he _is_ sleeping, can you please leave him and rest?"

1. Rin didn't want to bother Len, no man on earth wants to be bothered when they're sleeping.

2. Iroha might lose interest that way and would just leave them alone and look for her own… Then again, that'd make her feel guilty. And she wasn't even _involved_, even if she did say we. Accidentally.

Rin rang the doorbell and waited for Len to open the door… Hoping he wouldn't answer.

…

Before long they heard footsteps, Rin gulped as she heard the door being unlocked from the inside. When she _wanted_ to go to work this morning she had to wait ten minutes, rapidly ringing the doorbell; and when Rin didn't want to...

Life isn't fair.

"Rin…" She could read Len's face clearly, it's not every day that Rin brings someone to his mansion.

"She has a request, ah… A case." Rin let Iroha do the rest of the explanation.

"Please find my cat!" Iroha said so innocently, her fake tears ready when needed. Rin already said to her, the probability of Len saying no is high… _Too high_. Even so, Rin was sure Iroha would go as far as stalking those two if needed. So far, for who knows how long (a week) she's been searching, that detective's assistant is the only one who didn't say _no_ to her request. Though she didn't say yes either, but, it was… close enough. That assistant said _we_.

Len looked at her from top to bottom. Her expression, how she dresses, her… Her _smell_. Cologne + sweat is the worst combination a woman could ever have in that era.

Odd.

He took Rin's hand, pulled her inside and closed the door shut.

"… Hello?" Iroha knocked from the outside a few times, rang the doorbell a few times, shouts a few times, did nothing for a few seconds, and the cycle repeat itself for a few minutes.

"Why did you bring her _here_?" Len massaged his scalps, Rin could tell he was still sleepy. "A missing cat… The _police_ should take care of something like that, not a private detective like me."

"… I'm not sure. Everything happened so fast. I met her in a cafe with Miku and Luka earlier, and it just..." Len sighed when he heard Rin's name being mentioned, as if they were the answer to his problem. I mean, really, it didn't sound like Iroha's tantrum would stop. The more the cycle repeats the harder she shouts and the harder she bangs the door.

"You know, Len… I think she's crying outside." Rin listened quietly... Either she was shouting _emotionally_, or, she could really be crying out there.

"So? Somewhere out there, right this _second_ someone else is crying over something that matters more than this." Len turned around, he was ready to leave; when Rin stopped him.

"We shouldn't just ignore her like that!" Sure it sounded stupid. Still, there was a girl (stranger, she met a few minutes ago), and was (probably) crying her heart out. Rin couldn't just ignore her like that, and neither should Len!

"It's just a _cat_."

"It's _important_ to her."

"Not to you. You just met her a few minutes ago!"

"She wouldn't be crying right now if it's not important, and it matters to me!"

Len couldn't respond to her last announcement.

The two stopped arguing, they realized her cries have stopped. Len opened the door and, no crying girl in sight. She wasn't at his gate, not anywhere on the lawn, not on the roof, nowhere.

Len closed the door, leaving Rin in shock. She didn't know Iroha would give up so easily… And she was so persistent a few minutes ago. Maybe Rin was overreacting? No, maybe _Iroha_was overreacting, faced reality, and just gave up.

"See? Not important." Len sighed and left to the living room.

"It _is_ IMPORTANT!" The girl came out of nowhere, … From the living room? How did she get _inside_? The second Len entered the living room; not too far from the front door, Iroha was there… She stood there, as if waiting for Len to enter the room.

"Listen to _this_. I don't care if you think it's stupid or maybe it's not challenging or maybe it's too easy for someone with a title and reputation like you. I just wanted to ask a request and that kind assistant of yours has a heart and decided to-"

"Alright, I accept the case. At ten in the morning tomorrow, you better be here or you should just forget about us helping you." Len interrupted. He didn't look happy, he didn't look irritated or annoyed; to Rin's surprise, Len looked dead serious.

"Now, leave."


	4. Sigh

*** aira2889, anamanga9, RiriaKazeKage, Liia-P, Rietto, xChibiChanx ...

Is there a meaning to this A/N? There is no meaning to this A/N.***

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Sigh**_

09:50 AM

Rin rang the doorbell; hoping to not get the same result as yesterday... Having to wait for ten or so minutes. It was Len who decided when they would meet, so he _should_ be up. To Rin's surprise, it was Iroha who opened the door.

"Rin! You finally made it!" _Finally_? Rin was ten minutes _early_.

"When did you get here, Iroha?" She came inside and went to the living room. There, Len was putting his artificial arm on.

"She has been here since seven." Len answered her question, irritated. Who wouldn't be annoyed and bothered by the sound of bells in seven in the morning? And all Iroha said to her was... She wanted to be early.

"Did you get enough sleep, at least?" Rin caught him yawning.

"I'm fine." That wasn't so convincing.

"We should get started, right? It's not ten yet, but, you know. It's _close_ to ten. I've put up posters all around town, so I think it's better if we-"

"Hold on, we don't even know what your cat looks like." Len stopped her.

"My cat… First of all she's white, and wears a cute pink ribbon." Iroha ended it there… She thought just that would be enough to solve everything. She didn't mention the kind of the cat, the special characteristic... What could anyone do? Just put a pink ribbon to a random white cat in the street and... They could end the case there.

"And?"

"Her name is Kittyler!" Len would facepalm himself if he could, but Iroha wasn't joking. Really? He's really expected to find a cat just by that? It made him curious on what the posters looked like… White, with a pink ribbon. No wonder no one called.

"Where should we look now?" Rin couldn't help but wonder why Len was following Iroha… And by 'following' she meant, saying yes to everything she said; no matter how odd/weird/strange it is.

To sum up what happened:

1. Iroha came knocking at Len's mansion on seven in the morning, and Len didn't complain despite looking... annoyed.

2. Iroha constantly nag Len about her cat. He didn't seem to be responsive to it, which apparently had made her nagging worse. Rin was on the verge of having headache herself.

3. Iroha didn't give much details on something important to her, which didn't help at all. If this was an interrogation and not fact-gathering they were handling, Len would demand more facts. By force if necessary.

Or maybe Len still thinks it's a stupid, trivial case, thus didn't care even if the said cat lost forever.

Well, Len was rather proud of his job, so it's probably not true.

Maybe Rin was paranoid and was just a little bit stressed.

"Rin?" Len called out for the twentieth time. She snapped out from her fantasy world and came back to earth.

"I'm sorry, what? I didn't pay attention…" Rin had no idea why she just spaced out like that… Oh, right. It was Len's weirdness and Iroha's odd determination and vagueness.

"We're going to leave town, it'll take quite a while to get there… Even with a carriage. I'm sure we'll be there by noon though." Rin nodded. It's been a week, but would a cat really wander… _That_ far? Iroha was apparently the leader there, so Rin couldn't complain.

"Ah, before we leave… Have you eaten breakfast yet, Len?" It's Rin's job to serve him breakfast and tea after all, a detective couldn't start work with an empty stomach. Even if that detective's been through worse situations like serial killers, mad scientists, or yakuzas. He still needs breakfast.

"We-"

"I felt bad on waking him so early in the morning so _I_ cooked him breakfast." She smiled brightly. "It was worth it I guess, he said it was delicious! Come on, let's look for a carriage already~" The hyper girl skipped along, leaving the detective and his assistant alone in the living room.

"-sigh- We better get going before she gets hit by a carriage. Come on, Rin." She slowly followed behind him, lost in wonderland again.

It's weird how she has served Len for more than half a year… And Len had never said anything about _her_ cooking.

_'_… should I ask Miku to teach me?_'_

* * *

"This is so troublesome…" Len sank down on his seat on the carriage; he massaged his temples, sighing. Even though the carriage obviously fits four people, Len said he'd use the carriage with Rin, and Iroha could use another carriage.

"I don't know how long this little play will go on."

"What are you talking about?" Rin looked out the window, Iroha's carriage just behind them.

"Haven't you noticed it? That client of ours is being annoying and I 'pretend' to follow her around. There are too many inconsistencies…" Right… That was on Rin's head a few minutes ago in the mansion. So she wasn't hallucinating or paranoid (maybe just a little bit), Len really was acting the whole time.

"Then why did you accept the case? You _could_ say no, but you didn't." Or call the cops for _somehow_ breaking into someone's mansion.

"I got curious of _her_. No one should have been able to enter my mansion. I made sure of that." Len plainly answered. That wasn't really a reason to accept the case…

"When she got in, I thought she came from the window… Maybe you forgot to lock one of them? A back door, maybe?" Sure, there are some rooms in Len's mansion which are locked, Rin only knew a few rooms, in fact there were still chances of her getting lost in the mansion. Small, but the odds existed.

"I wonder about that. The windows were all locked when I checked them and, while yes, there is a 'back door', it's locked too. I know my own mansion, Rin. When I say it's impossible to enter, I mean it." Rin could somehow see where this was going.

"Maybe… She could pick locks." Iroha looked too innocent to actually… Do any _harm_. Accept being irritating to _some_ people, but that couldn't be categorized as harm. It's categorized as... annoying.

"Even if she did pick my lock, the lock would break and none of them were, I checked. Also, she's not normal. I could tell by her perfume that she's a noble, or at least rich because admittedly I don't remember her at all. No normal parents of a noble would ever let their precious daughter learn something so… roguish." Right… Rin read books, no… It's not just books, outside the carriage's windows, she could see it for herself. The ones who's usually able to pick lock would be poor and had to resolve to bad things to survive. Certainly not a noble.

"That goes to another question. She knew how to cook, I had to say her cooking was delicious, she knew table manner and etiquette, the latter almost hidden by her annoying childish behavior though. More evidence of her being a noble, and so… If she really _is_ one, don't you think she has enough money to _ask_ the police about the cat?" Rin was finally convinced that Iroha was someone not to be taken so lightly.

Never judge a book by its cover…

"Why of all people, why did she ask _me_?" Maybe Iroha was secretly an assassin… Ready to stab him literally in the back soon. There he goes again, thinking up the worst case scenario.

"I think she knows who you are, though." Rin shrugged… Overall, it was Miku's fault. The apparently-not-so-normal girl might actually… Be up to something.

Take the cat case Miku said.

It'll be _fine_ Miku said.

She's even more mysterious than her missing cat!

"Until when are you going to play along? If we wait too long…" They had all the right to be suspicious and paranoid. Just a month ago, they (Len, Kaito too) destroyed few branch offices of an organization mostly known for killing and experimenting humans. Not the killing part, but experiments were killed during the… _Testing_ part. It's possible that the other branches knew who they were.

What if they wanted revenge?

Scratch that, Len knew they wanted revenge. The time is the real mystery; _when_ they're going to do it.

"By the end of the day, in a place where there are lo- Ah, right, a market! That way she can't do anything…" Trusting people… Seemed way harder than it was before. There were always possibilities of people lying.

* * *

12:40 AM

Ah, that wonderful, wonderful smell of the sea. Iroha's first stop was the harbor… Rin and Len didn't question how and why would a cat be lost somewhere so far away from the big city where Iroha came from, they just played along.

"Why did you take us to the harbor, Iroha…?" Sure, there was a chance that Iroha might actually kill them in the near future and dump their bodies at the sea, but it's best to make sure.

"There should be lots of fishes in the harbor, right? It's only common sense, cats love fishes!"

Rin couldn't say the obvious that a marketplace would have more easier to reach, easier to get fish. Plus that it's closer than the harbor.

Rin and Iroha watched the ships all around the harbor, it reminded Rin of the trip from England to Japan… Those weeks of staying in the ship. It was boring, full of sea sickness, turbulence, and rare moments of fun.

_Rare... very rare..._

"Ugh, what's taking that master of yours so long? It shouldn't take that long to pay a carriage, right?" Iroha stomped her feet.

"Maybe they don't have a change i-"

"We should start looking by ourselves! Come on, we'll met up with him again eventually!" Iroha grabbed Rin's arm and started pulling her away.

She's as energized as a powerhouse!

"I'm not sure if Le-"

"_Again_! We'll meet up **eventually**, stop worrying and help me find my cat!" Before long, Iroha loosened the grip on Rin's arm and Rin started to walk by her own. If Len could do it, so could Rin. She could play along, if Iroha really _is_ up to something. What's the worst that could happen?

* * *

12:50 PM

They're gone.

One second he was paying the carriage men, _extra_ so they could wait a little bit and take them back to the mansion again. A second later the girls were gone, out of sight, nowhere to be found.

Len tried to find a reason on why he should _not_ panic. First of all, they could be anywhere. Iroha seemed somewhat daring, she could even be in one of those ships dragging Rin along. Or worse. They board one of the ships… And there were… Uncountable number of ships in the harbor coming and leaving.

"Ah, excuse me? Have you seen two girls, one is blonde with a ribbon on her head, and the other one… Is very noisy and her pink hair is tied back?" Len asked a nearby fisherman.

"There was a really noisy girl and a quiet one… I think they boarded that ship over there." The old man answered, he pointed at a large boat… Large enough to fit three hundred or so passengers. Ready to board, ready to set sail, and judging by the size, that ship might be leaving somewhere outside of England.

And that's bad.

"Thank you." Len said and quickly ran to the ship. Anyone with eyes and common sense could determine the fact that the ship was about to set sail any minute. And if Rin is set off to an unknown mysterious land or get thrown off board for not having a ticket Len knew who'd be on his murder list.

* * *

It was... Truly a miracle, Len could somehow slip inside the ship _without_ being asked a ticket. In any other day, he'd question why the security of a ship so magnificent looking is horrible, but not today. In a matter of seconds the stairs connecting the ship to the harbor, and also the anchor of the ship would be raised and there'd be no turning back.

"Excuse me, but I'm looking for a friend of min-" Len asked one of the sailors in the ship. His jaw dropped when the sailor turned around to face him.

"… K-Kaito?" He was as surprised as Len was, they had the same questions in mind. 'What is he _doing_ here?' and 'What are the odds of me meeting _him_ here?'

"Len! What are you... God... I didn't know you're going to… France? Without Rin? Are you sure that's a good idea?" So the ship's destination was France. Great. Len just needed Rin off the ship before it set sail and interrogate Iroha later on.

"…Why are you wearing a sail- Th-that's not important right now, I'm looking for Rin. Have you seen her anywhere?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm a _sailor_. It's my new job, so… Rin, right? I'm not sure, I think I saw her, but, there are lots of blondes in this ship, it might be someone else." He shrugged. It was weird… Seeing Kaito in a sailor suit… But that's not important at that moment.

"I need to find her fast bef-" They felt the ship budged, little by little. It didn't take long for them to realize the ship had already…

"Kaito, you're a sailor, turn the ship around! I don't have a ticket, and I've no intention to go to France!" Len tried to calm himself down… Keep calm… he's definitely not going to the country of love without Rin!

Wait, that sounded awfully wrong.

"I can't do that! Len, this is my first week on the job, I can't get fired _now_! Once we set sail, we can't turn back!" Len sank to the floor, he wasn't ready for another week or two in a ship to France.

Feeling rather awkward, Kaito used the binocular tied around his neck and searched for the harbor… And that's when he found it.

"Funny, that person looks like Rin from here. Blonde, wearing black, a ribbon…" With that description, it could be anyone. "And there's a girl with her… Pink hair tied back, seems rather childish, and a pretty dress. Does that ring a bell?" Len quickly stood up, and Kaito handed him the goggles.

Yep, there they were.

"Are you really sure you couldn't turn the ship around? I don't have a ticket, you _need_ to turn it around." Len saw as those two girls became smaller as he drifted farther into the sea.

"The least I want to do in life is argue with my boss." He answered with a sigh as he patted Len's back.

"I guess you're stuck in here for a while, pal. Welcome aboard."


	5. Ship of Fools

_***_Ahm... According to the poll, in, uh, my profile... "If the ship ever sank, what will Len do" ... OWWHH IT'S A TIE between the bananas and Rin. 35% voted for the bananas, and the other 35% voted for Rin. Well, the people have spoken, thank you voters. _Mark my words_ any misfortune or anything death-related will be because of THOSE voters who voted for the bananas. ***

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Ship of Fools**_

11:05 AM

"This is stupid, I have the _money_. Why can't I just pay the ticket fee to you here? Instead you're telling me to wear _this_ outfit and _do_ your job?" Len stared at the outfit Kaito gave him, waiting for a reply. Kaito was a bit busy going through some… Files and such.

"First of all, no, I'm not a _servant_. I'm a sailor, so you're not really helping me, you're doing some other servants' job. And second of all, even if you buy a ticket "here" from me, there won't be much difference. We don't have any extra beds or rooms for the passengers, but there are tons for the workers." Len sighed over the bitter truth and blankly stared into the suit Kaito gave him. Not much different than the usual coat he uses, but still…

"Not to mention the _clothes_. You're telling me you're going to use the same coat you wear today for the next ten days to France?" Oh, Kaito had a point there.

"Fine." Len groaned and entered the changing room; at least, being a servant on that fancy ship, he'd get a bed, some clothes, and food, probably.

"How are you going to tell your fellow shipmates about a new butler on board? They should have an absence board or-"

"Trust me, I'm a sailor. I know what I'm doing." Kaito cut in.

"You've only been here for a w-"

"Just trust me and I'll get you into the list, stop worrying! I have a list here on what you should do as a servant." So that's what he was looking for. Schedules, huh?

"I won't go through much details, but here are a few things you have to do. Think of this ship as a hotel, the layout is similar. All you need to do is serve people in the dining room, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Easy, right?"

"Great." Len replied with a monotone voice.

"And now, a couple of advi- … Some rules around this ship. I'm not asking you to take notes, but this is serious business Len."

"On a scale of a missing cat case to the 'organization' case, how serious is it?"

"…Does the seriousness matter? The point is there are some rules"

"I'm serious when I said I want to know how serious it is, Kaito. Your definition of 'serious' and my definition of 'serious' are two different levels." And by 'two different levels' Len meant, Kaito could still keep calm and have a straight face in situations Len would panic at.

"I guess it's as serious as the Japan's case we did? Maybe a little bit more, somehow… I guess…" Len threw him his coat and tie to Kaito, who was standing not too far from him.

"What kind of _sick_ ship are we in to be _that_ serious? And you're making me a _part_ of this ship of yours?" And Len thought the clothes, food, and bed were the worst part of the journey.

"Not my fault, _you_ climbed aboard. –sigh- I should have pushed you off board when we were still near shore." But then Len would yell at him. And track him down...

"Just tell me the problem this ship has."

"Well, I heard there are… 'Special passengers' in here, planning on doing… _Certain things_." Kaito lowered his voice.

"Just get straight to the point and tell me. No need to be so vague."

"The other sailors told me there will be a bloodbath soon." For a second there, the word bloodbath gave chills down Len's spine. He wasn't sure why, but the way Kaito say it made it sound so… Serious and real when it could be just a joke. Sailors after all love to exaggerate things. That's how mermaid legend was made.

"Funny how the sailors know so much about this. Don't tell me your crew is planning on a Mary Celeste-like adventure."

"Pfft. Mary Celeste didn't have any signs of blood or force, only missing people."

"You know too much Kaito, don't make me look into your... Ship."

"Hey, you asked for it. I told you earlier here, I'm new." New enough to know _special passengers_ were there; planned to do _certain things _in the ship?

"I can ask you a few questions if I could." Len opened the changing room's curtain and fixed his tie. "But right now I just want to live through the next ten days. Just tell me what I need to avoid." Kaito lend him a pair of glasses, which Len accepted with a raised eyebrow.

"To be honest I don't see why this glasses is necessary." The two of them left the changing room and walked through the hallways.

"It's called a _disguise_. Okay, so here are the 'rules'. One. Do _not_ interact with other sailors or servants. Except me. You'll cause suspicion, it'll be tricky, I need to cover your story up... And they're kinda scary, I don't want little Len to get bullied or anything. Two. Do _not_ go to the boss' office. The boss isn't on board, but she's quite-"

"You're telling me there's no captain in this ship?"

"No. When I say 'boss' I mean, another boss. The boss who owns this boat and some other boats. The captain is another thing, he's nice and all, but avoid him anyway. You'll cause suspicion. You're just a servant who does what everyone needs to say, you don't _need_ to talk. Be like Rin when you two first met." That wouldn't be much of a problem.

"Is there a third point?"

"No, but there are some places you need to avoid. I'll make you a map and mark down the places you have to avoid. Trust me, I _know_ what I'm saying. I'll give you the map once you're done, here…" Kaito opened the room, revealing a full packed fancy dining room.

"It's lunch time now, and I need to take care a few things. Good luck, pal. If you don't know what to do, just think about, you know, Rin. Since this is basically what she does every day, the only difference is the magnitude." He pushed Len inside and closed the door tight.

...

Hahah.

Silly Kaito.

Thanks to him, he knew exactly what to do there. At first he didn't know why he couldn't just ask the questions in his head earlier on the rest area. Maybe he was just too afraid to find out the answer? It struck him like lightning when the thought came.

He's a detective for heaven's sake! The list of things Kaito told to avoid are the things he needed to the most before he could even _think_ on leaving the ship.

'Interact with other sailors, other servants too, I suppose. Go to the boss' room, and when I meet him again, I'll ask him for the map on the list of things I need to look into.'

"Ah, excuse me? I'm new here."

* * *

12:30 PM

'The other servants are okay, they all have backgrounds and families. So far, nothing is out of the ordinary…' The only thing out of the ordinary so far was Kaito and his little talk.

"So, did you get it? You _really_ don't need to write everything down, you know? You look smart, ah, what's your name again? Leon right?" It doesn't hurt to have a –temporary- friend. The auburn haired man's name was Lui… And for a slight second there Len thought he was a woman. Something about him just seemed so… Graceful?

… But that's beside the point.

Len had no troubles at all carrying trays, _smile_ at all the passengers, cleaning all the mess, what troubles him the most was that paranoid feeling on his head. There was that feeling, where he felt like someone was watching him.

'Of course someone is watching me, I need to serve all these people, in a way, they _need_ me.' Len continued to write on his notepad.

"Thanks for everything, I think I get it now." He slipped his pen and notepad to his coat's right pocket and followed… Wherever Lui was going.

"You pick up things real fast, Leon… And this is your first day, right? That's pretty impressive!"

"It's nothing, really… By the way, is it our break already?" Len wasn't sure if Kaito was overreacting with the crew; if it's a matter of background then he was just fine writing up stories along the way. Was he worried that his and Len's background won't match? Len was sure they could figure things out _that_ way.

"Yep, why?"

"Do you know any telephones… Anywhere, in the ship?" Nothing big, really. He just wanted to give a quick call…

"…I only know one, I saw it in the boss' office once." It's funny how Len just met him and Lui was so open. Or maybe that's just how co-workers treat each other there? To work on a ship 24/7 for a long period of time; whether want it or not you need to be nice because you never know who could push you off board.

"Can you tell me where it is?"

"WHAT? No! You're not supposed to go to the boss' office!" Lui stopped and glared at him, as if he was a mad man… Though in a way Len _was_ a mad man.

"It's fine, all I want to do is call a friend of mine."

"No! Unless you want to d-"

"What's the problem here?" A sailor bumped into them.

"I want to go to the boss' off-"

"Nothing! He doesn't want to go anywhere! He's new and all, so…" Lui cut in.

" I heard he wanted to go to the boss' office… And, you're new? Since when did we get a new servant? We're not hiring…" The sailor looked at him from top to bottom… Len looked completely normal, and smart. Too smart, for a servant. Damn, it was the glasses wasn't it? Len realized that earlier, he thought he'd look too smart to be a servant.

"Today's my first day, and you heard right, I wa-"

"You're that new guy, right?" Kaito came out of nowhere and quickly cut in. "I need to talk to you for a second ." Behind that straight face of his, Len knew him well enough that on Kaito's head he was screaming 'WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING' or something along the lines. It almost made him laugh.

"He's new right? He might not know yet...," the sailor said. Len raised an eyebrow. The second Kaito cut in, both the sailor and Lui went all… Nice.

"Yeah! I think so too. Come on… Whatever your name is, we need to _talk_."

* * *

Kaito led him to the boiler. They went deeper, down the stairs, passed by a few sailors, it was hot there too. Some of the machines in there gave out heat, some of them even gave out a crude-like smell. If Kaito wanted to talk… Why of all places, he picked there? The only way they could communicate was… By screaming. And there was no guarantee screaming would work either.

There was a small room in the middle of all the noisy machines, if it weren't for the light from the window of that small room, Len wouldn't have seen it. For some reason, an odd… thought came to his head.

'A noisy place, accessible only for sailors / workers, locked, … I could kill a bunch of people in that room. If my prey tries to run away, odds are if they're not careful they could fall, and the machines here, they're enough to kill… Wait, what am I thinking?' The two entered the room, Kaito sighed, locked the door, and covered the window.

If Len didn't know who Kaito was he'll assume he'd murder him right that second.

"So you asked me the things you need to avoid, as reference to what you should do… I'm… Glad that I didn't give you the map." He scratched the back of his neck, wondering what to do next with him. Obviously, he couldn't just let Len roam around the ship for the next ten days without getting into any kind of trouble that could cost _his_ life, _Len's_ life, and _several_ other innocent lives.

"Just _don't_ do anything stupid." Was the best… Scratch that, the _only_ thing Kaito could come up with.

"You know what's in _my_ mind right now? Stupid things I could do in this ship. Interrogate the passengers, prank some of the sailors, put poison on all the passengers' wine, laugh at their reactions, steal the passengers' belongings, throw them all off board, call Rin with a telephone from the boss' office, destroy all the safe boats, and some... Other stupid things."

"What kind of 'this is a serious situation' do you _not_ understand? When I told you to lay low, I mean, you have to stay l-"

"I guess I'm just a curious person. When you say it's dangerous, I can't help wanting to know what could happen."

"Curiosity _kills_."

"Your point being?" Len had been through worse; and Kaito knew that. For the time being, Len have assumed _the two of them_ had been through worst situations.

"Okay, okay. Let's put it this way, let's _play_ a game. The name's ship of fools, a dice game everybody loves." He stirred the conversation away... Finally found a smart comeback / plan.

"And…?"

"In ship of fools you have to bet everything you have. Money is not to be used in our case though." Kaito gave a satisfied smile; that's the type of smile Kaito would show off to everyone whenever he has a _great_ idea.

"And you already have a bet set up for us?"

"If you win, and I lose, I'll tell you everything you want to know. If I win and you lose, you'll shut up for the next ten days and do as I say... though promise me whichever happens don't do anything that can drown us." Len opened his mouth, about to argue. It wasn't fair, he was new, he didn't even know _how_ to play.

"I'll give you some time to practice, we'll play at eight." He went for the door and unlocked it.

"See you then."


	6. Game On

*** 9/25/2012 today's Shuujin-P's birthday. Speaking of which I can't wait to see the Prisoner / Paperplane manga on October. Herp derp derrrp I have nothing else to say here. oTL I forgot how I usually write my own fanfic's title. Is it bold and italic... Unh. LOL. ***

* * *

_**Chapter 4: Game On**_

"It's simple, really… What you REALLY need is luck to win everything. There are no special techniques or anything to learn; it's just a game of luck." Leon's a really odd fellow; Lui scratched the back of his neck. Something about him was just... Out of place, and he couldn't put a finger on it... He just didn't seem like a servant or sailor at all..

"Even so, do you think you can teach me? The basics, at least... A few rounds would be nice." Len sighed, Lui was his only hope there. Making a temporary friend in that ship would be a bit hard. For one, Kaito already gave him a warning earlier, that there were... "Suspicious people", what did he say again? Right... There would be a blood bath or some sort. Len had enough making friends for now, he might actually befriend the wrong person. Since Kaito didn't say anything about Lui he thought it was fine and Lui's on the clear. For now, at least.

Bottom line Lui was the only person who could teach him how to play Ship of Fools.

"I can't, I'm kinda busy… Wait, we're kinda busy. It's the first day on board, we can't just slack off like that."

"What are we supposed to do today anyway? We'll finish it fast so we can take a break for a minute or two." Len could see... Lui was a bit irritated. Just a little bit, as if he was trying to hide his feelings for his annoying offer.

"Today? Lots of things. Right now? We're supposed to do nothing right now." Lui paused for a second, and he continued before Len could persuade him any further. "And by nothing I mean, we have to wait and stand by until a passenger asks for assistance."

"Can't we do something while we wait?"

"Playing games here would just get us in to trouble. If you want it so badly, I can teach you later. Tonight. Promise." It's just a simple game, the crew on the ship must be really strict on these breaks or leisure time, Len guessed.

"One. No one is really watching us. Everyone else in the room here, they're servants just like us. Two, the game is tonight. I have to learn how to play now."

"Who are you going to play against anyway?" Friends already? Or maybe Leon was just... The gambling type. Do smart people gamble? No, wait, it was the glasses that made Leon look smart.

"The person we talked to earlier, the one who took me away while we were talking… The blue-haired friendly looking sailor." Hahah friendly looking. Len hoped Lui knew sarcasm when he heard one.

What came next was... A concerned look from Lui. Not concerned, it was a mixture of confusion and amazement. Len replied with putting on the similar face and expression. What's wrong with a friendly... Gamble game?

"...Are you sure about that? Really, really sure? You're about to play against that sailor?"

"I don't know many sailors." Len shrugged. "Yes, I'm playing against him. He's an unreasonable person and he wants to play against me, tonight. That game. And since I might actually lose something somewhat important to me-"

"You're not putting your life in the line here, right?"

"... If I say yes, will you help me?" The deal was; and this was in Kaito's exact words: "If I win and you lose, you'll shut up for the next ten days and do as I say". So technically his life and freedom depends on that game.

Wow Len just realized how important this game is to him. Who'd want to stay quiet for ten days and do what people tell you to do? Aside from Rin when they first met, but that didn't count. She wanted to work. Len didn't.

"Okay, fine. You owe me for this. We're just going to play a few rounds and we're done, got it?" Lui had never... Break the rules or slack off before. Not even his previous jobs... He's always the goodie goodie good boy who does everything the boss / superior say. This might actually be exciting... Unless they get caught of course.

* * *

Lui prepared five dice, a glass, and a spot where they could play together without being noticed. To Len's surprise, it wasn't the toilet (he had a hunch Lui was the paranoid type and would suggest to play in the toilet, which Len didn't really mind as long as Lui could teach him) it was their own room. It's the servant's bedroom, technically.

No, ...small isn't the right word. An overweight man would have trouble walking around there because of the lack of space. It gave out impression that the higher ups would only hire malnourished people. The servant's bedroom was filled with nothing but beds. The space between one bed and another is around, it's hard to say, but Len couldn't stretch out both his arms out. It was a double bed, with one at the bottom and one at the top; and Len doubted he could sit up straight with the upper bunk being so close to the bottom bed.

'Note to self... Tomorrow morning, don't sit up straight.' He'd hit himself that way.

"When can we start?"

"I don't want to get into trouble, so after three rounds, we're going back to work, okay?" They were the only two servants there in that room, no one else was there. Why worry? Because some other servant would go in and tell on them? That's the worst case scenario Len could think of, and it's not _that_ bad.

"See these dice? I'm going to put them in the cup here. Here's what you need to remember, six means "ship", five means "captain", and four means "crew". The goal of this game is to get six, five, and four in order. It's common sense really, you need a ship first, then you need a captain to the ship, and lastly you need a crew; you can't do it any other order, it wouldn't make sense. You need to roll your dice three times, so, try rolling the dice in the cup now." Lui gave him the cup and let Len roll the cup. He got a five, one, one, two, and three.

"Not a very good start."

"I know I'm not a very lucky person." Len rolled the dice again. Four, six, two, three, and another two. On the bright side at least he got a six. "What now?"

"You should keep that ship. You have a crew, but you don't have a captain yet, so you're not allowed to take it. See, the goal of the game is to have the most score, and you can get this 'score' by the cargo. Once you have those three dice, you'll have two dice left, right? Those two dice'll be the score for your cargo. Easy, huh? All you need is luck. Continue the game." Len rolled the dice and got a one, four, two, five, and one.

"Great, you have a complete set!"

"Is that a good thing?"

"Not really, no. It's my turn now, so your score is zero since you don't have a cargo with you. Let's try it again, okay? Two more rounds." Lui rolled the dice and got a six, two, four, three, and five. A set in his first try, that was pretty lucky of him.

"There's no special skill here, is there?" Len knew he looked and sounded a bit hopeless (he knew Lui noticed it too). So overall he needed luck, which is something he couldn't grasp or learn, he could pray, but he doubted God would listen. Let's see, the worst case scenario to happen there... The worst that could happen in the game is if Kaito uses rigged dice and cheat. Len needed a strategy, a game strategy, his game plan... But what? It's a game of luck, he couldn't do anything but throw the dice! "If you know a good and effective strategy for this game, because, you know, my life depends on it, it'd be great to win." He continued.

"Can't you just cancel the game? It'd be easier for both of us if you cancel it!" Lui threw his cargo and got a six in total.

"The prize of winning the game, it's hard to ignore. Besides, I don't think I could say no to the challenge."

"Sorry Leon, but there are no tricks or anything. It's a dice game, and it's all up to luck." Lui's final score was seventeen, so of course he won that round. "At least you could play the game now, right?" He let Len roll the dice, and they start a new round to play.

"Do you think I'm ready?" Len rolled out his dice, and got a two, one, four, five, and three. Oh, so close. Just one six and he could get a complete set! Len put the dice back to the cup and tried to give it another throw.

"You're ready, you're just not lucky." It's good to hear that, at least he knew what to do so he won't look like a complete idiot during the real game.

* * *

8:25 PM  
"... When we hear the bell, we'll stand up, salute, sit back down, pray, THEN we eat." They were in the dining room with some of the other servants; around half of them were there, with the other half out there serving the passengers on the main dining room. Len thought, in a way, the ship was really... Fancy. They even had a dining room for the servants. Sure, the passengers' and the sailors' dining room were far beyond their league, but it was really something. Len thought they'd just get bread or something without a table and chair, this was far more than what he expected. In a good way.

Len glanced over to the clock on the wall, he was getting a bit anxious. They didn't discuss anything about the place to meet, where to play... If this whole game thing turns out to be a hoax Len would really jump off the ship. On second thought maybe not, but he'd be really upset and angry about it. After playing with Lui, he won one out of three rounds with him. He won on his last try, and a part of him wondered if it was because Lui let him win out of pity (then again, it is a game of luck, and you can't control luck).

After a while the two of them heard a bell, rang by the head of the servant, and the noisy dining room fell silent. Everyone simultaneously stood up and saluted the head of servant and sat down and closed their eyes to pray. That's when Len felt something, someone, pulling his collar. Len opened his eyes to see Kaito, who signaled him to leave the dining room. He was a bit confused at first, though Len followed Kaito out anyway; they left the room before anyone opened their eyes from their prayer. Hopefully Lui wouldn't panic over Len's disappearance.

"I hope you don't mind skipping dinner, this is the only break time I got, and I treasure my beauty sleep so anything over 10:00 PM is something I can't really do." Kaito shrug and fastened his pace. "Let me guess, the servant next to you, he taught you how to play Ship of Fools already? He had, hadn't he?"

"Huh... so you knew." Len was still new in the ship, that doesn't mean he didn't know where Kaito was taking him. It was the same place they went earlier, the boiler. All that trouble to play a game of dice?

"You don't sound so confident." There was no use hiding it, Len didn't mind Kaito underestimating him... In a way, he could use it as an advantage.

"I prefer strategic games where I could actually think and not depend on luck itself."

"You're just saying that because you've never been lucky in gambling!" Kaito smirked.

"In some parts of the world it's considered illegal to gamble." They were near the boiler already, Len raised his voice so Kaito could hear him.

"Now you're just stirring the conversation away." Kaito opened the door to the boiler, let Len in, and locked it. Len noticed Kaito was prepared; a table for two, five dice, and a glass. No one could see anyone in the boiler, they're completely alone. The two of them sat down Len took a long deep breath. "Let's put our bets in, shall we? If I win, you'll shut up for the next ten days and do as I say. If you win, I'll tell you everything you want to know. It's that simple, we'll just play for one round, okay?"

"Are you sure one round is enough?"

"Sure it is! I'll go throw the dice first." Kaito put five in to the glass and rolled his first set. A four, four, one, five, and six. It's Kaito's first try and he already got a set. Is everyone else in the world just lucky, or is Len just really...

"Wait a minute, these dice aren't rigged, right?" Len interrupted as Kaito rolled his second dice; his score so far was nine.

"Of course not!" He rolled another and got a three. Sum them up together and Kaito's final score was twelve. Hnn... "And even if they are rigged, why would I tell you the truth?"

His smirk was annoying to look at.

Len gave him a brief glare and prepared his dice. Kaito didn't feel so nervous about it, he was probably sure he'd win... He rolled his dice, hoping to get a set on his first try. A one, six, six, two, and four.

"Tch." Len could only take his boat (six) in and had to let go of the crew (four). All he needed now was a five and a four. Before he rolled however, Len thought about chances and probability for a second.

'Assuming I'll get a complete set on my second throw...' The only way to beat Kaito was if... No, there was no way he could beat Kaito at that rate. What he could do was to make the score even. In order for that to happen, he needed a sailor and it's crew by his second throw, and a total of twelve points for the cargo on his third row. Len could get a twelve with the last two dice on six, so...

Six, three, four, three, and five.

Len gave out a sigh of relief and put the last two dice on the cup. He needed a twelve. A six, and a six. What's the probability of that happening? Hnn... 1/6? 1/3? 1/36?The odds were really low. He'd be lucky to get a six. He... Len couldn't think. He had his poker face on and he didn't show any facial expression or anything in the outside, but in the inside he was too busy calculating the odds. Why was he doing that anyway? It-

"Hurry up and throw the dice, Len." Kaito sighed. Len gulped and rolled his dice.

A two and a four.

Len's heart sank and he buried his face on his hands. He lost the bet, and he had to... Ughhhhhhhh.

"Looks like I'm the winner. So, so! Should I add a consequence on what would happen if you break your promise on the bet?" Thanks to this game Len wasn't in the mood to talk especially to him. "Hey, you could glare at me all you want, it won't change the fact that you lost and I won." Kaito was rubbing it on his face and nothing can be more irritating than this.

"I'll jump off this ship if I break my promise." Len wasn't really serious, still, Kaito nodded anyway. Len wondered if he's making a mental note, 'go check for troubles if Len's missing'.

"Okay then." He looked at his watch for a second before he continued. "You can still make it to the dining room to eat dinner. I'll just clean these up, so you can go ahead before your friend got a heart-attack."

* * *

Notes:

1. Ship of Fools' more notably known as "ship crew and captain". I just like the title "ship of fools" 'cause it's one of my favorite songs composed by Kajiura Yuki.

2. What Lui said: "Bell, salute, pray, eat" or something along the lines (?) is what sailors do. I don't remember much since it happened last year, but that was the order and sailors do that whenever we eat breakfast / dinner. I'm not sure if this applies to a cruise ship like this since I was in a navy ship, but let's just assume so. (and I still have the "it's fiction so anything can happen!" card with me.)

3. Gambling is bad, okay.


	7. Fortune Telling

*** ...trick and treat is getting a manga. Anyone excited? NEGI is awesome and whoever chose NEGI to be the illustrator is a genius. It'll be out in iTunes store and android market, that's what I heard. On... November, I think. Hope it's less than $10 heheheheeeheheehadsxovinsdx ***

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Fortune Telling**_

7:20 PM

Len was proud to say he was getting a hang of everything now. He was at the dining hall with the other servants, ready to offer or serve passengers for a tray of champagne. Just two days ago he was the only servant there who carried the tray with both hands, not that it's wrong to carry it with both arms it's just that the other servants were more experienced and held them with only one hand; he looked like an odd one out in the pact (it's laughable that he couldn't do it considering the fact he only got one hand in the first place, and managed to play intricate song in piano but not holding a simple tray, although only one person knew that and laughed at him). On the bright side, after three days of working in the ship he hadn't broken anything.

"You're getting a hang of this, huh?" Apparently Lui was the first to notice Len's achievement. He had a tray on his hand as well and figured he'd stick around with Len until the shift was over. Another thing Len noticed about the ship for the past three days was the other servants. He'd always heard things on how sailors stick together and such, but the other servants were really distant. It's as if they have their own individual clicks. Lui mentioned how he didn't like the other servants or sailors being distant too, it made him feel like an outcast; ever since Len got there they both became outcasts so "it didn't feel as lonely and depressing as before" he said.

"Hey, hey, look at that lady over there!" Lui tugged Len's sleeve and pointed at a lady dressed in black. Not a bit of skin shown, all hidden by her scarf, hat, gloves and other accessory. "Don't you think she looks weird?"

"In what way? She's a woman and I don't understand a woman's logic in clothes aside from the fact that it's considered inappropriate for them to show much of their skin." That was the only fact Len knew about a woman's fashion life.

"She talked to a few people here and there about her job; she's a fortune teller. I noticed her since day one, but today she looks really nervous." He suddenly lowered his voice to a whisper. "I served her earlier, I lost count of how many glasses she had tonight but she kept on saying 'this ship will be the end of us' since she entered the dining hall. She's a fortune teller; do you think it's true?"

"Is this her first night drinking?" It was hard to tell on how that lady was feeling, he couldn't tell her expression or whether she really was nervous. Even though they were only a few tables away, the lady had her face hidden by her hat and scarf. It's impossible to judge her feeling through her expression.

"Yeah, this is her first night drinking, I think. Why?"

"It's possible that she's heavily drunk right now have you thought of that? When you're drunk your mind's not in place and pretty much anything can happen inside your mind." Len watched the lady called another servant who had a tray of champagne with him. She drunk it whole in one go and sighed. "Though I admit it's a bit weird that she's suddenly drinking." Len said said so quietly, Lui didn't even notice him say it.

People didn't change overnight. It's hard to change a habit. If she never drinks in the first place, it's very unlikely for her to start drinking out of the blue. Len wouldn't be surprised if she's only having problem and decided to make herself feel better by drinking, but if she really never drinks before, then her body wouldn't be used to alcohol yet. She should had been knocked out. Although Len wasn't sure if everybody reacts the same towards alcohol, the lady was still surprising. Len didn't know if she's still sober or not, but she's at least still coherent.

They stood in silence for a minute or two, until Lui broke the silence. "I need to refill my bottle for a minute, do you need yours refilled too?" Len shook his head and Lui left to the kitchen.

Len didn't feel like walking around asking whether passengers want to drink so he decided to stand in the corner instead. Being a servant was really boring; it's nothing he couldn't handle since he'd only need to stay there for another week (he survived three years in prison just fine, a fancy ship for a week should be a walk in the park). Len just wanted to go home and move on with his life, and for a second he wondered how Rin was doing the past three days without him. Kaito wouldn't let him anywhere near the telephone on his boss' office. A letter? No, unfortunately they didn't have magical owls that could send out letters a country away. Odds are his client Iroha (technically "their" client) was still bugging her, in an irritating and hopefully harmless way. The cat case bugged him a bit, and Len wasn't thinking of it as a simple case anymore, but still he hoped.

"Thinking about Rin now, aren't you?" Kaito's voice startled him. "Before you ask how I know this, I was a fortune teller, so I know stuffs."

"What, fortune tellers can read mind too?" Len didn't know why Kaito suddenly appeared next to him. It could be because he's keeping an eye on him, making sure he wasn't making problems, or perhaps he's keeping an eye on the fortune teller lady. Len was sure he took glances at her.

"Not exactly. When you visit fortune tellers in the beginning most of them will probably try and get to know you; what's on your mind in the present. Or in the past, it depends. Profession, family, relationships, things like that." He leaned on the wall before he continued on. "Wanna know a secret?"

"No."

"I'm gonna tell you anyway. The truth is, even though people think fortune telling is all about black magic it's not entirely like that. Mostly fortune tellers only say what you want to hear. I read around somewhere that when you do something, let's say, tell a lie. 80% of your actions are reflected through movements with the other 20% coming from your lips. Some actions are just involuntary, it's hard for some people to lie and not do some actions like avoiding eye contacts, odd unnecessary reflex movements... And fortune tellers have keen eyes; they could read your body. A single twitch could determine anything."

"What are you trying to say from here?" Len had no idea why he was telling him all of that but he just nodded along the way.

"Nothing. I just wanted to start a conversation, is that wrong?" Technically no, but Len thought Kaito was about to say something important for a second. "It's not just twitches or lies. There are other movements as well, for example, when you keep on rubbing or massaging your ring finger it means you've been thinking about a certain relationship. Non-stop eye contact for more than six seconds hints the possibility of wanting to murder or a certain want or lust. Oh, and here's another one! This goes to most girls; if you see them playing around with their hair in front of a guy it means they lik-, they love that person."

"If you fortune tellers already have your own dictionary or database or whatever you call this is... What will happen if someone's acting?" To Len the study of body movements seemed more believable than tarot cards or crystal balls. He's after all the son of a doctor.

"Give me an example, I'm having a hard time trying to grasp what you're saying."

"Let's say a girl acted like she's in love and played with her hair as she talked to someone. Would a fortune teller notice that she's in fact acting?"

"Hnn... Involuntary movement of the face muscles is pretty hard to fake, so if the said fortune teller can see her face I'm sure he/she will be able to see through it. Although... It's like, trying to fake a yawn; some people could make it seem natural, and the others couldn't." Kaito paused and looked at his watch. "Well, they'll serve dinner soon. I'll catch you around, Len."

* * *

12:05 AM

"I've been on this ship for three days, and I still don't understand why we servants have to stand by. Who'd want our help in midnight? Or even those poor servants who have the 3:00 AM shifts help? I thought they would all want some privacy in their rooms doing God-knows-what," Len yawned. They were in the servant's office; as Len would call it to make 'that-room-where-servants-wait-until-someone-requires-their-help-during-their-shift' shorter. Lui pointed out what the name of the room was it sounded too fancy for something so lowly though, but he didn't seem to mind the name.

"Maybe they needed towels or maybe some passengers might be hungry..." Lui couldn't come up with a reason either. There were few servants there, all of them sat on the round table in the middle of the room; except for Len and Lui, there were few chairs unfortunately. They chose to stand in the corner far from them instead.

"In three in the morning? Really?"

"Well, yeah. In fact someone from room number 420 asked me to bring me some warm milk at midnight later. Some passengers just have strange appetites and we'll just have to suck it up." Len looked at the clock to make sure, last time he looked at the clock it was three minutes past midnight; and since time moves slower when you have nothing to do he doubted the number was far apart.

"It's five minutes past midnight already, shouldn't you prepare that order now?"

"Oh, wow I lost track of time!" _Really_? Time moved fast for him? They didn't even talk much and Len could tell Lui was as sleepy as he was. "Since you have nothing else to do, why don't you help me bring this order to her? It's better than sitting here, waiting for something to happen, right?" Well, Lui didn't have to ask twice.

* * *

12:12 AM

Len still haven't figured out and memorized the map of the ship yet; of course he tried but with all the work he had to it was hard to spare a few minutes and try to memorize the map. He still had to count on Lui to bring him anywhere, it's easy to get lost in the ship. They were on their way to room number 420; with Len carrying the tray (to be fair, even though it was just a glass of warm milk that Lui made, Len wanted to do something as well)

"You know, room number 420 is the room of the fortune teller we talked about earlier. She asked a sailor for the milk so... I guess she was that drunk. 'Sailors don't take orders from passengers' was his exact quote. So that sailor told me to do it; when he said a weird drunk lady dressed in complete black I thought it must be the fortune teller." Number 413, 414, 415, they were a few rooms away.

"What if she's asleep?" 416, 417, 418, ... "Then she won't answer the door, right? If she won't, she'll blame us for it. I'm ready to give a long and hard argument." 419, 420, Len knocked on the door. His knocks get louder every time and eventually the door creaked open.

"It's not locked." Len pushed open the door, only to see the room completely empty. And by empty, Len meant her belongings weren't even there. No bags, or clothes, nothing. "Are you sure we're on the right room?" Len put the tray on the coffee table and opened the small wardrobe and found it to be empty as well. He doubted that black gown was the only thing she wore the past three days.

"The ship is packed, there shouldn't be any empty rooms." Lui closed the door behind him, looking a bit worried. "Where could she be?"

"This isn't right, I can't find her luggage anywhere. Lipstick. I remembered she wore lipstick, she should have some make up, accessories or even bath equipment, or clothes..." Len checked under the bed, no luggage either. "This is weird even for a weirdo."

"Leon, we could get in trouble, can't you be curious some time else?"

"Lui, she and her entire belongings are missing. Don't you think something might have happened to her?" Len looked at the wardrobe one more time, only more closely this time. He saw something sparkle and picked it up; a small marble attached to some metal? It looked like some sort of keychain.

"Are you saying she disappeared? Maybe, I don't know, as you said, her bags are missing maybe she's looking for it now."

"That in itself is weird. When did she talk to the sailor?" Lui really didn't feel comfortable with everything but unlike Len he felt it'd be easier and less stressful if he just kept on not knowing. Sadly, his only companion disagreed on that matter, and he was forced to went along.

"Around nine, maybe?"

"She ate dinner around seven, we left for our break on eight thirty, we returned to work around nine on the dining hall, and she left not too long after our shift started."

"You're overreacting, you know that...?"

"If I'm overreacting explain what's happening right now. I know she's drunk but I doubt a drunken person would carry luggage out and, what? Walk around the ship?" The bed wasn't messy at all, the other servants must've cleaned the room. Most cleaning services would work around 8:00 when most passengers are in the dining hall, and since the bed was untouched that fortune teller didn't go to sleep after she left the dining hall earlier. Or of course maybe she was a tidy person.

"She'll probably back in the morning, relax."

"No, that won't add up. That lady ordered a glass of milk at this exact time, and if she were to expect an order she wouldn't leave her room unattended, unlocked, and her luggage wouldn't be missing. She should be here right now. Something happened in between 9:00 PM earlier and right now." A few things just didn't make sense to Len, it was too weird yet at the same time a few things were explainable.

He thought up a few scenarios, none of them answered all the flaws. For example one scenario he came up with was the fact that the lady came in after she left the dining hall, went to her room, realized her luggage was stolen, left the room in a hurry, and was still out there in the ship somewhere. Len was confident she'd be smart enough to contact one of the servants or sailors, or even the neighboring rooms. Another scenario is if the lady came inside her room drunk, she left again without locking the door and was still out there, and while she was still out there in the ship someone stole her luggage. Wow, that seemed like a likely scenario. Then again, the milk was a bit weird. Or maybe...

'Maybe I'm just bored and wish for a case while she's really doing unreasonable stuff due to being drunk...' Len had all the rights to be worried, Kaito already gave him warnings about the ship and he did say anything could happen.

"You're right, I guess I'm over-thinking things. Let's just go back, I'm sure she'll be back in the morning." If he, a sane detective could get lost in a ship, a drunk woman would be more likely to get lost as well.

* * *

6:05 AM

"LEON!" Lui shouted, only to make Len surprised and sat up from his bed... A loud thud to his head reminded him he was sleeping on the lower bunk of Lui's bed. "You're a heavy sleeper, you know that?"

"I didn't get much sleep last night." Len put on his fake glasses. "Why are you shouting? It's still six in the morning, doesn't our shift start at seven?"

"You can never guess what just happened, everyone's fussing about it even the passengers!" there was a hint of amusement in his voice and he looked a bit worried, typical signs of denial. Len could already guess what happened.

"Does it involve the fortune teller?"

"How did you know?"

"Seriously, Lui. What happened?" So he wasn't overreacting after all. Something actually happened and Len didn't like how this conversation was going.

"That fortune teller committed suicide. I don't know how it happened since I haven't seen the body... And I really don't want to. But she did!"

...No, the lady couldn't have committed suicide. She ordered that milk, she wouldn't order something if she knew she was about to suicide later on, drunk or not. Len knew she did it on purpose; though then again it depends on the cause of death which Len doesn't know so far, maybe it was because she was just drunk. Of course, at times like this what he should do is confront the most suspicious person in the ship.

* * *

"I need answers, _now_." Len and Kaito had an agreement, he promised to never ever visit the sailor's hangout. It's like the servant's office, the difference is the name and the people who hang out in it. Above everything else, Len still prioritize his job as a detective, no matter what deal he had made. "What do you know about the fortune teller who died last night?"

"Excuse me everyone." He sat up from his chair and pushed Len outside; leaving everyone speechless. Len figured it's probably over the fact that a servant just raised his voice to someone superior. "Why do you think I have anything to do with this? Because I _talked_ about fortune telling with you last night?"

"I'm not saying you're the culprit, I'm saying you know something." A part of Len hoped none of the sailors were eavesdropping on them behind the door there. "You lied to me yesterday."

"_Why_ would I lie, and _when_ did I? I talked to you for a few minutes yesterday about fortune telling, after that I didn't talk to you at all!"

"Last night, you looked at your watch and you said you wanted to go to dinner. It was seven thirty." It was something Len noticed but chose to ignore.

"So what?"

"The night we had our match you told me, around 8:30 PM was your only break. I didn't say anything because I want you to think I'm a moron who doesn't know when his 'friend' lied to him. And it wasn't a planned out lie either, I expected better of you." That was it, Len could see it; Kaito twitched just a _little_ bit.

"Sure, I lied. I repeat, _so what_? How does this have anything to do with that fortune teller?"

"Stop pretending as if you don't know anything, it wasn't a suicide, there was a murder last night! You expect me to do _nothing_? You're the most suspicious since YOU were the one who told me there will be a bloodbath in this ship in the first place!" Maybe if Kaito hadn't warned him about anything Len wouldn't be so confident on his theory; the "Kaito knows something real big" theory.

"You know you lost the bet and you're supposed to shut up and do everything I say, right?"

"And now you're turning the conversation away, I'm on the right track aren't I?"

"Doesn't change the fact that you lost the bet!" They started to raise their voices, the other sailors don't even need to stick their ears to the door if this keeps up.

"Fine. Fine. _I_ lost the bet, I'm supposed to do whatever you say. But seriously, what makes you think you can stop me from investigating anyway?" And Kaito knew him well enough that Len would actually do that. "Do you really think I'd just sit here and do nothing? A silly bet will stop me?" Len was so close on leaving, he already took two steps back.

"Maybe not the bet. But what about information? About that girl who got you into this mess, to be exact." Kaito said monotonously, he wasn't shouting anymore either. He was calmer than before and that was never a good sign. Len stopped on his track and frowned.

"Get to the point, what are you trying to say?"

"It's weird, right? Someone pointed out a ship where she could have gone too, and you just happened to meet me. Me of all people." Kaito shrugged. "Do you think it's a coincidence that you just happened to be here?"

"We-"

"Len, I told you about the difficulty of faking involuntary face muscle movement, and I assure you, I'm good at it. There are people who are better than me, perhaps, but my skill is enough to fool you. I tell you this, you will never figure out when I'm lying. Not even your medical knowledge will help." He added a weird chuckled. "Have you ever thought of the possibility of me calling her everyday? Of me being related to her? Ha, but even if I told you that, there's no way you can tell if I'm lying or not."

"Kaito, don't tell me..."

"If, _assuming_ what I just told you are all true, don't you think it'll be easy to ask that pink haired girl to do something in England?" Len's eyes widened in horror at the realization. He was being blackmailed, but it wasn't him who's life was threatened.

Iroha, the mysterious cat lover, could still be with Rin, and there was no way for Len to stop her if what Kaito just said was true.


	8. Hell Underwater

*** A certain worldwide trend on twitter made me think, I think the hashtag was #dumbfanficmoments. Sure, on detective stories like, I don't know, Conan, Sherlock Holmes, Detective Q, etc. they're all "realistic" and uses actual facts, research has to be done... The only thing that doesn't make any sense in stories like those is that "somehow", wherever the detective goes, murder cases just "appear". Realistic, huh.***

* * *

_**Chapter 6: Hell Underwater**_

8:10 PM

Len's shift was almost over on the dining hall. He was trying his best not to look so uneasy in front of the passengers, or even the other servants there. From the moment he started his shift this evening until right that second, he didn't refill his champagne bottle at all... Of course if this was his first day as a servant on the ship he wouldn't be too surprised, but this was his fifth day here, he would usually refill his bottle three or four times per shift; same goes to the other servants there. No, that wasn't the source of his uneasiness, on his first and second day the dining hall would be filled with people, it'd be so full there would be passengers who couldn't get any seats. Now, only half of the hall was filled with passengers.

So, the only two possible explanations were:

1. The passengers were sick of the food there and refuse to eat.

2. The passengers were mysteriously disappearing.

None of the passengers seemed to mind; in fact none of them were panicking, or missing anyone... or simply noticed anything. The workers there, both servants and sailors were calm too; Len was the only wary one there. Besides, if anyone went missing, wouldn't someone report such a thing in the first place?

"Lui... _Please_ tell me I'm not the only one who thinks the number of people in this ship is decreasing." Len whispered to Lui who just passed right him. "Look at the dining hall, it's half empty!"

"... Or half full." He shrugged. "I think it's weird too... Kinda... Maybe they just hate the food here? I'd be bored too if I were them. The menu is never changed."

"Come on, be serious!" Sure, it's one of the two possible explanations Len came up with a few moments ago, it's real unlikely for that to _actually_ happen. People need to eat. If they're on land, Len might have bought that. He preferred the "mysteriously disappearing" theory over the "sick of food" theory any day. "Do you really think it's coincidence that half of the passengers would actually lost it's appetite like this? That they would choose hunger over boredom?!"

"Listen, Leon. I really hate this topic 'cause every time we talk about, I don't know, mystery-related things, bad things actually happen. Two days ago you were so curious on that fortune tell-"

"But she really is missing, and my curiosity has nothing to do with it."

"Yeah, well, ... You're creeping me out! I don't want to think about the ship being the end of us and people disappearing like this!" With that worried face, it was safe to say Len was no longer the only one who thought that the number of passengers was decreasing. Lui was just in denial, just like before. "We have five more days until we reach shore, and I just want to do my job in peace."

"Are you saying this happened before?"

"If something as big as this ever happened, you'd hear this in the news, right?" Len had never heard of murders or mystery news involving ships before. Sunken ships? He'd never paid attention to those types of news. "Anyway, this fried chicken is getting cold." Lui left in a hurry to a table on the far edge of the room.

Len leaned on the wall, sighing. He wasn't sure what was worse. The fact that on the fifth day half of the passengers were missing or the fact that he couldn't do anything about it. Or the combination of both, even. Stupid Kaito and his stupid threat. If only he'd won that game, would he really let Len do what he wanted?

'… Rin...'

He couldn't let her be in danger.

He looked at the time and figured he should end the shift there. Len was about to give up and call it a day when a servant with a trolley passed by him. A trolley, filled with cleaning appliances.. Servants on that department could access the passenger's room any time they need to, right?

An idea popped into his mind.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Len caught up with him and walked side by side with the brunette haired servant. "Do you want to switch shifts? Just for one night?" Len thought it'd be a neat deal, anyone would prefer a job where you take and serve orders than cleaning hundreds of rooms, right?

"What? You want to trade? With me? You know I'm on the cleaning department, right?" Len got him now.

"It's a nice change, right? Here..." Len handed him the tray of champagne and took control of the trolley. "Don't forget: Dinner starts at 8:25. My shift starts again around midnight. That's all you need to know, thanks!"

* * *

9:55 PM

Kaito might have forbidden him to investigate, but he never said anything about doing some extra work, which Len did with glee despite the grim situation.

He had access to more than enough rooms to confirm the fact that half of the people in the ship were missing. What he had been doing for the past hour was roll his trolley around, knock on people's door, and if there was no reply he'd open the door and check around. He fought his rumbling stomach and heavy eyelids as he thought about the facts he just gathered. It was the same as before, the passengers' luggage were nowhere to be found and on several cases there would be traces. For example, what Len found in the fortune teller's room was a keychain; in one room he found a lipstick under a passenger's bed. They must had fallen off here and there from their bags because Len couldn't find any connections between any of them, they weren't leads or hints to where they could be.

What exactly was the culprit's (or _culprits_, there were a hundred or so passengers missing, and it would be more logical for this to be a doing of a group and not one person) motive? Judging from Kaito's words, the disappearances was most likely planned. The passengers were possibly kidnapped, and for what? Ransom? Money? Most kidnapped victims' chance of survival was slim after forty eight hours. If this is the same case as the fortune teller's, could it be that they're all dead right now? And the fortune teller's death was actually a trigger or warning to something really big? None of the servants seemed to be talking about it, forget sailors, Kaito had been avoiding him in the past few days, and none of the passengers were panicking! Had they no common sense? Their traveling companions were gone and none of them even noticed!

Even though he had explored god knows how many rooms already, he couldn't see a sign of struggle anywhere. Everything was tidy... In fact, too tidy.

Len stopped his trolley and stared out to space. The only facts he could confirm so far were:

1. People were definitely missing

2. The tidiness could mean that the servants clean the rooms without finding anything, like the disappearance of the owner of the said room, strange.

First things first, he should try and think of a place where the passengers could be; dead or alive their bodies should be there somewhere, they couldn't just vanish into thin air. A large place to hold so many people... The cargo, maybe? His first guess was they were thrown out of the ship and in to the ocean, though with that guess he couldn't do anything about it so he decided that should do as alternate answer in case the people really couldn't be found anywhere on that ship. He couldn't search the ocean, what he _could_ do was check the cargo.

He was about to leave when he saw a girl around ten years of age, when their eyes met the girl approached him.

"I'm sorry sir, but can you please help me? I can't find my mom anywhere!" Her voice was weary, her eyes were moist, and Len knew that within minutes, no, within seconds she would actually cry. But that aside, _FINALLY_ someone actually noticed the missing passengers! Or in this case, _a_ missing passenger. "My mom was tired so she stayed in her room the whole night... I ate dinner alone because I thought it'd be fine, but when I came back the room was completely empty! Even our bags!"

"We should look together, then. I'm looking for someone as well." And that "someone" was half of the passengers there in the ship. That girl was great for his cover, he's not investigating, he's helping that poor little girl find his mother. "What's your name?"

"A-Ann."

"Okay, Ann. But let me tell you that this is a big ship, and it might take a long time to find her."Len tried to reconsider this. Was it really a good idea to drag a ten year old into this mess? What if her mother was dead? Or worse, what if she actually witnessed her mother's death? Her mother was missing and if she found out the worst... No, he wouldn't let that happen. He wasn't even sure if the passengers really were dead! "...Are you sure you're up to it?"

"Of course I'm up to it!"

* * *

11:05 PM

No, apparently she wasn't up to it. Not many ten year old could wake up this late, it was nearly midnight and Ann fell asleep on his trolley. Sure, at first Ann was just resting there on top of the metal trolley, then before he knew it she fell right asleep. Len didn't blame her; maybe it was better that way. Over the past hours they checked the cargo, the dining hall, they got lost a few times and met a dead end here and there (she wondered why that could happen at first, but Len explained that he's new at that ship, and so she just sighed every time that happened), they peeked in the captain's control room, nothing. He hadn't checked Kaito's boss' room, he had no idea where it was and the little voice in his head told him to stay away from that place, and at the moment, the deck; which was where they were headed. They hadn't checked it and it should be empty at that time of hour.

The cold breeze was getting to him (being the generous servant he is, Ann was draped with some clean towels in the trolley, keeping her warm and comfortable) it made him sleepy too. He wasn't as alert in the day and really, he could fall any second. He had to hang in there for five more days. Len said in day one, he just wanted to leave the ship and move on with his life back in England with Rin, though being the curious detective he was he wouldn't be as satisfied if he couldn't solve what was happening there.

Len rested his eyes for two seconds, still rolling the trolley with heavy Ann at the top, ... why was he so sleepy? His shift was around midnight with Lui, he was never _that_ tired. He could sleep standing up with ease at that point.

'It's not like anyone gave me any sleeping drug. Pffft...' Then, it clicked. No sign of struggle, the fortune teller died the day she first drank champagne... Len stopped the trolley and shook Ann roughly and she groaned.

"Ann... Wake up!" She was too sleepy, or too lazy, or both, to answer him. "There's your mom!"

"What? Where?" Ann sat up and looked around. It was a little white lie, she'd get over it.

"I'm sorry I lied, but did your mom drink any champagne today?" She was about to protest how Len would trick her like that, so Len cut in before her mouth even opens to protest a single world. "This might help us find your mom, I'm serious!"

"She did drank a little bit, I told you she was tired remember? She fell asleep so I had to eat dinner alone." Len couldn't believe it. That champagne might actually have something in it, he couldn't confirm it with solid evidence just yet but is it coincidence that people who had drank the champagne had been drugged.

It was dangerous to go any further, he hadn't planned anything through and they had to retreat for the time being.

"Listen, Ann, I think we should call it a day. You're sleepy right? _I'm_ sleepy, _you're_ sleepy, we'll continue the search tomorrow when we're full of energy, understand?" Hopefully Ann wasn't the stubborn type and would do as he says. "I'll treat you chocolate cake if you do as I say."

"Let's just look around the deck for a little while, we're almost there... We can see it from here! _Then_ we'll call it a day." Then again, what ten year old could be sleeping at this time of night bearing the fact in mind her mother was missing (for a few hours). Len had no choice but to say yes, she was right anyway, they were a few feet away from the deck. He reluctantly rolled the trolley and sighed.

They could hear voices of people from there, faint, but they were there. Unless Len was half asleep and he was dreaming... A crowd, was it a party or something? That wasn't all, every minute or so he'd hear a splash. By that time his brain, common sense, and heart warned him not to go any further. The brain concluded so many guesses, none of which were good. His common sense told him if anything bad happens (and his brain was sure of this) he wouldn't be able to do anything because he wasn't in his best condition. His heartbeat fastened, and the euphoria erased his fatigue. Not only that, his curious nature kicked in. Overall curiosity told him to move on. Len stopped the trolley, he could see a few people with a lantern up.

"Stay here and _don't_ move." Len said sternly and left.

The deck was large, twice the size of the dining hall. Len hid behind a movable black board where most people would usually use to keep track of scores in games people hold to pass the time. The only thing he could see was the source of light, the lantern there near the far edge of the deck.

He slowly moved the black board, hoping it wouldn't make much noise, he could hear around three people or so talking. He walked closer, still around twenty meters away. The sound of the waves was great camouflage to hide the sounds the black board made, or so Len thought it did. He peeked in to see three sailors, one holding the lantern, the second holding sheets of papers on his hands, the third, the tallest one there was throwing out luggage out to the sea.

So there it was, the truth and nothing but the truth. One lantern wasn't enough to make him see everything at the far edge, it was enough for him to speculate. On one hand, he was more than satisfied that he witnessed the truth, on the other hand, he just realized how close he was to them and how dangerous this could be. The first thing that came in to Len's mind was, if any of them saw his face he'd be done for. Was there nowhere to hide in that ship wouldn't it be best to leave soon before the effect from the champagne kicks in once more? No! What was he thinking? He _can't_ leave! He needed to know more! Even if the risks were high... He'd been through worse situations, right?

Len looked down, the lantern now showed the face of a woman, and not just that there were others; sleeping. Len gulped and continued to watch, taking another few steps with the black board. Screw the risks, he was curious, so long as the lantern doesn't face him they would never notice the moving black board.

He could hear a conversation between them, it was hard to make out what it was. Whatever it is it didn't end very well. Another five steps and to his surprise, everything were far much clearer. The tallest sailor there pulled out his revolver, pointed directly at that woman's head, and without any words from the woman's side; pulled the trigger. The sound of that gunshot echoed in his ears, it was a sight he would see in any crime scenes, still, witnessing it right in front of your very eyes, not being able to do anything about it made him feel, it had _always_ made him feel...

'… I remember now, why I need Rin by my side... Damn it...'

Len... was impulsive by nature. He wasn't proud of it, but he would do bad things if condition asked for it. He'd been on the other side, the one who pulled the trigger. Now he understood what the others felt when they saw him do those things, both the ones who cared for him or his victims.

He understood, but still he couldn't explain it.

"Don't waste your bullets on a woman like her you idiot! What if that actually woke someone up? We have a whole list here to finish and it's still too early for us to get caught!" The sailor with the papers said, he recklessly threw that lifeless body out to the ocean, grabbed a pen and scribbled something on to his paper. "Next time, just break their necks." The tall one there dropped his revolver down and pouted; obviously he didn't like being ordered around. Len thought things could never get any worse than this, he was wrong. He heard footsteps, which at first were ordinary walking steps, then, those feet started to run.

Ann.

"You see what you did? You attracted a girl's attention!" Within seconds Ann would be killed, her small and slender neck would be in the hands of that tall sailor and he'd break them into bite sized pieces. People were disappearing in front of his very eyes, why did he look into it? Because he wanted to stop it. And what was he doing there? He was watching everything as if it was some movie, he should be _stopping_ them.

Without much of a thought, he ran, pushing the blackboard with him, those three sailors didn't get a chance to respond, Len alone with no weapons whatsoever couldn't stand a chance against them, _but_ with a large blackboard he might actually survive. Giving it his everything, Len pushed the three sailors off the edge of the fence, and so went the blackboard as well. The screams of the three who fell ended when Len heard a loud splash at the bottom.

...Was it really over?

He crouched down, the lantern fell along with them so he couldn't see anything, it was pitch black again. He tried to look around, he needed to see the papers, the "list" of people who would die within the next few days. No sign of them, though he did found a revolver which he found more than useful. Len nearly forgot about Ann's presence, his mind raced, what should he say to her? The thought of finding the list and evidence came first before that poor little girl what was _wrong_ with him?

"Ann, you have to believe me when I say those sailors are _bad_ people." Len didn't even know where she was, well, where ever... She was, he knew she could hear him. "That's why, it had to be done." He heard sobbing before those tiny footsteps started to run away.

It took him a while to realize the fact that he just murdered three men in front of a ten year old girl who had recently lost her mom in the middle of the night.


	9. To Shore

***So exams start this week and I thought "Wow I don't feel like studying I can't study English or Graphic Design I use English every freaking day and open Photoshop every week or so what the hell should I study oh I know I'll update and while I'm at it I'm gonna reply some reviews why because I can and I don't feel like studying English / GD and man writing without commas feel so weird what am I doing"

Cookie Addiction: It's Sweet Ann, should've mentioned it earlier. ^_^;;

Naty17: To your lighter note, I've never paid attention to Conan... Oh well, you should only suspect the innocent-looking ones when they have that yandere aura surrounding them, otherwise don't. I read a "summary" of this sick book where witches get tortured and it's all about innocent people who gets tied up with a big stones as weight and people throw them down a lak- Why am I talking about this.

aira2889: Great, now I have a satanic Ann stuck in my head.

Quieteyes2: I don't mind~

It's always nice to try new things, can't remember the last time I reply reviews in a chapter though, I just feel like writing. ...It's just practice for my English test tomorrow! ***

* * *

**Chapter 7: To Shore**

01:05 AM

When he realized it, it was already Len's ninth day on the ship, and in within a few hours he would finally arrive in France. Sure, he would be exhausted from the ten days trip, but he wasn't planning on spending more than a day in France. With the money he had with him he wouldn't be able to afford a ticket back home, but surely Kaito wouldn't mind him borrowing some money, right? Kaito owed him answers, bets or no bets he still owed him. He was planning on pressing him until he gave him answers, whether he likes it or not.

Once he's back... He just wanted to go back, he was sure the reason to why he wanted to go back home was because he was sick of all the events in the ship that had happened so far, though something told him there was something more than that. He felt anxious just thinking about it. The event with Ann kept on repeating on his mind, his hand trembling with every repeat. It made him unable to think about anything else but murder going on on the ship, and that he's part of the murderer group that must be feared.

Anxiousness aside, Len tried to recap everything that had happened the past few days. The champagne was an important point, something Len had to "literally" get rid of. It was a sleeping drug, and it wasn't easy to detect either. The aroma of wine or liquor vary, those who enjoy drinking them would know a type by the aroma, there are even experts of them. The aroma of the drug didn't affect the champagne very much, whoever "they" were, they know what they were doing. Len wasn't sure how many people are involved to this charade, he saw three sailors throwing people off the ship... What if there were more people involved? Even the stupidest of the stupidest people would eventually notice the fact that half the passengers were missing, and they were in the middle of the ocean, where else could they have gone? All the workers weren't really "panicking", and he wasn't sure who added the drugs to the champagne too; it could even be one of the servants serving the champagne.

Len had been watching too, monitoring everything and everyone; and it's a good thing he's a light sleeper. The odds of him waking up the next day under water is higher than him returning home safely. At least the passengers were safe, the champagnes were all gone by day seven, an hour before and after midnight he would patrol around the deck. It wasn't as bad as before, Len tried to remember the faces of some passengers just so he would notice when one of them were missing.

He noticed one person though, he couldn't find Ann everywhere. If he would at least _try_ and protect her, would there be any difference? He went back to his room before he could collapse on the hallway, if he had chased after her, would she still be there in the ship? Someone killed her, he doubted that ten year old committed suicide. Was she even on the "list"?

They mentioned a "list", Len was sure it was a list of all the people needed to be killed. What else could it be than a death list? A list of people to be killed, that was the only motive Len had in mind. He got a hold of the names of the people who were missing, though just names wouldn't be enough to confirm anything.

On the bright side, he was still alive, there, walking back to his bed from his shift. He fought his eyes opened; at least within a few hours he could rent a room in an inn and sleep (_if_ he had the money to). He'd been avoiding Lui and the other servants, though not too distant to the point where everyone would be suspicious. He just couldn't trust them, in fact for the first time since he stepped foot on the ship, he trusted Kaito more than those servants.

"Night, Leon." Lui whispered and crawled up his bed.

Len mumbled a small "night" back, and a second before he rest his head down, he noticed a letter just above his pillow. He looked around, wondering whether any of the servants would send him that letter. If they wanted to say something they could just say it to him directly, whoever the sender is wasn't all secretive either. Anyone could see that letter, that _piece of paper_ folded in two. So if it isn't a secret it shouldn't be important, right?

To: Leon

From: You know whose handwriting this is.

Meet me at the deck 8:00

Oh, he recognized that handwriting alright. Len couldn't guess what Kaito had in mind, or perhaps he was too tired to think since this was Kaito he's talking about there. It'd be nice if Kaito would explain a few things, answer a few questions... Something he should have done nine days ago. Whatever it was, something told him nothing good would come out of it. If it's something trivial Kaito would've just confronted him, if it was good news Kaito would've done the same thing. Len sighed and lay on his bed, his eyes still opened.

Now that his mind was clear from everything he started to feel anxious on going back home again.

* * *

8:10 AM

Sneaking off the dining hall was a bit tricky. Everyone kept calling him wanting this and that, even if it was his job, everyone was just... There. They would arrive soon and by the time the passengers finish breakfast they could finally leave the ship. Maybe in around, twenty minutes or so they would reach the harbor. It felt like around five hundred passengers were there on day one, and on the last day none of them noticed that only 1/4 of them were present. He tried to ignore the "missing" passengers and went to the deck where he and Kaito should meet up.

There were a few sailors on the deck, which made him more nervous, but nothing he couldn't handle. He saw Kaito at the edge of the deck, he was looking out to shore, they could see the harbor just a few kilometers away, other ships and fishermen boats were up and about as well. What started as a normal walk for Len turned into a fast jog a minute later. He can feel people looking at him. If he really _was_ a servant and he didn't know the fact that at least three sailors murdered half of the population of the ship Len could've _ignored_ those stares. He shouldn't be there after all; he should be in the dining hall like the other servants.

"What do you want?" It was weird, Len didn't mean to greet so rudely, it somehow just came to him.

"It's nice to see you too." Kaito wasn't even looking at him; it was hard to tell his expression. Not that Len _could_ anyway. "You have a revolver with you, don't you? If I have to take a guess on your right pants pocket."

"On my _left_ pants pocket." Len could feel the revolver on his pocket, the revolver he took from the one of the sailor's he threw off board. Right at that exact spot, the spot Kaito was standing.

"Three sailors went missing, any idea how?"

"Maybe they're thrown off board." Len fought with himself not to look back, he could feel all the stares from the sailors on the deck. "Why did you call me here? Is it because you want to know whether I have anything to do with those three sailors? You already know I'm _carrying_ one of their revolvers!"

"Let's say, hypothetically..." Kaito completely ignored him. "There's this tragic incident..." He scratched the back of his neck, sighed, and finally turned around. His expression was blank and that made him scarier, in a way.

"Which made my boss anxious and wait at the harbor right now and she's going to kill me."

"Literally?" Len raised an eyebrow.

"No, just an expression. It's nice to see you care about my well-being though." He smirked and turned to face the harbor again. "Maybe you've noticed how the number of passengers is decreasing... And I'm sure you've seen some sailors doing "bad" things."

"Is that how you personally describe "murder"? You know they're doing all of this but you're not doing anything to prevent it! What? Are you one of them or something? You throw people off board too?" Sure, the deck was wide. Real wide, not to mention the sound of the waves. Just to make sure though, Len kept his voice low.

"All the passengers in this ship were meant to die the second they stepped foot in to this ship." Kaito faced him again. "_we_ were invited here because we were paid to kill them all."

"This ship... all of its passengers paid us to kill themselves. Well, not all. Most of them at least. They're cowards, suicidal people who are too afraid to kill themselves. Some, like the fortune teller and that sweet girl you made witness, were sent here to be killed. Who asked? Their companions of course. Well, doesn't change the fact that we're murderers."

Len wasn't sure what was worse. Kaito was a part of a group of paid assassin, or the fact that one ship would be the death of up to half a million passengers. That must be the biggest mass murder case in the world to date. In other words Kaito had killed _hundreds_ of lives. Another disturbing fact was how he explained it to him in such a _calm_ tone! He was left speechless there, he wanted to say something but there were too many things in mind he just can't say it aloud.

But his explanation explained a lot of things. Like why no one noticed the disappearance. It's not that they didn't notice, they had expected it. They all knew that they were going to die. Kaito and his group couldn't use poison to just kill off all of them at once, because not all people in that ship knew of the nature of the passengers. So to escape suspicion of said people, like Lui for example, they had to kill off little by little.

"... you're sick, Kaito."

"In my defense, you killed hundreds of people when you burnt down those buildings two months ago. And those three sailors in this ship." Again, his tone sickened him.

"For a good cause, they were kidnapping people, experimenting them! What else was I supposed to do?"

"Even if you say they're guilty, their friends and families aren't. No matter what the cause is, you, _we_, took hundreds of futures away from the people we've killed." Kaito rubbed his temples, as if trying to calm himself down. "This isn't why I called you here. I wanted to apologize. For everything. What I did, what I'm doing, and what I'll do in the future or something."

"Apologizing won't change anything and if you think I'll just sit here and do nothing, you're wrong." Len could take his revolver out and shot him right there, though that'd be an act of suicide, the other sailors were watching him. Why would he want to kill Kaito, anyway? He just wanted to take his anger out at something, the friend he used to trust and count on since his childhood turned out to be someone so different and distant. How else was he supposed to react?

"I'm sure you wouldn't trust me, but you need to listen closely." Kaito signaled him to come closer. "If you want to live for another few years, stay away from me and from any ship. Going back to England isn't the greatest idea either."

"Why not?"

"Just... I'm sorry, okay? Apologizing won't work for you, I'm fine with that, I just..." Kaito put his arms on both of Len's shoulders. "I should've done this since the beginning." With that, Kaito pushed him off the deck and on to the waters.

He felt like a rock there, all stiff as he fell two hundred and fifty meters on full speed to the ocean. So many things flashed before his very eyes and head: Would he survive the fall? The impact? Assuming he did could he really swim god-knows-how-many kilometers back to shore? Why did Kaito push him off board? Revenge? All those thoughts circled around his head, any normal person falling off from the height to meet their deaths would scream all the way down. But he didn't.

Len fell with a big splash, the force pushed him deeper and deeper into the bottom of the sea. He snapped himself up, hesitantly his eyes opened wide, doing nothing won't help him float back up to the surface! He put all his might and power to his legs, splashing, Len didn't take a breath when he fell, he'd be out of breaths in seconds. When the worst comes and he is out of breath, he'll lose consciousness, and his body will fore-

'I _really_ should stop poisoning my own mind with negative thoughts in near deaths experience.' Len said to himself and added one last push up back to the surface. He took one large breath from his mouth, coughing up some water that came in when he did so, and rubbed his eyes. He'd never tried to open his eyes under water before, it was a strange experience. Though compared to everything else about the ship he was in, the "strange"-ness was incomparable.

From the angle he was in, he could no longer see the deck, he can't tell whether Kaito was there or not. Just when he thought he could finally clear his head, Len suddenly heard gunshots from above, followed with screams, all were faint but he could hear them. What was happening there? He'd be the stupidest man alive if he were to go back to the ship, should he just run away? From the sounds of it, those "assassins" were shooting all the passengers there.

Everyone... those who wanted to die and didn't...

Maybe, just _maybe_ Kaito's reason to why he pushed him off the ship, was it because of the shooting up there? Kaito said so himself, he had to stay away, lives were at stake up there. Just the thought of it sickened him, he was about to abandon hundreds of lives when he could be doing _something_. It's just that, he wasn't sure what that "something" was. A thought struck his head, "They wanted to die anyway, so it's better if I leave" Why... He wanted to punch himself for saying that. He only had two options, two of which were impossible and would lead to deaths.

1. He could return to the ship, _somehow_. The outcome? He'd be shot to death.

2. He "could" swim back to shore, a few kilometers away. Which would mean, his death would only be delayed.

Again, he reminded himself, doing nothing won't help him. He had to do something, he had to make a decision. He thought of the third option, he could just commit suicide and let his death be fast, let the ocean be his grave. ...No, that's the most unlikely option he'd go with. Then he thought, maybe it's best to follow Kaito's advice and NOT return to the ship. There were boats and ships everywhere, fishermen surely he could somehow negotiate with them and ask them bring them to shore, right?

Then again, he couldn't speak French, and he was in their territory already. Assuming all went well and he could step foot on shore with no blood dripping, no cuts, or no broken bones, he'd still be stranded in a foreign country with no money, no acquaintances, and no knowledge of French.

'The future can just.. Wait.' Len thought to himself. Even though it's always nice to think ahead, he doesn't want to get caught up thinking about the future that he forgot to fight and survive in the present.

Ignoring all the screams and gunshots from the ship, Len swam for the nearest small boat there. From the looks of it, the small boat only a hundred meters away from him was a fishing boat. Oddly though he couldn't see anyone on that brown rusty boat, or was it just the angle he was in? He continued on and once near, he climbed up the boat, hoping whoever in charge wouldn't be too surprised to find a foreigner crawling up a boat like that.

"I'm.. Very sorry." Len apologized for intruding into someone else's property, coughed up some water he swallowed, every inch of his body wet. His heart sank down his shoes when he noticed a body, a corpse lying down near the stirring wheel of the boat.

Len ran to the corpse, the bearded middle aged man's body still warm. His eyes were still opened out of shock, and as if one bullet wasn't enough, it was safe to say there were more than five bullets just around his abdomen, his pale shirt dyed completely in red. No, it wasn't just that, the weapon used, it was no ordinary handgun, the bullets were so powerful, blood wasn't the only thing which left his soon to be stiffed body. He died a few minutes ago, Len knew from his warm temperature. By the sailors up there, and their motive? The fishing boat was probably being too close to the ship and they were afraid there'd be witnesses of the shootings inside the ship, was that it?

He put both his hands on his head, everything was going too fast! The sailors haven't seen him in the boat yet but if they do he'd die in the matter of minutes! He took a deep breath, not to catch a breath, but to calm himself down. He had to somehow figure out how to use the boat, avoid suspicion of carrying a corpse, explaining his defense in a foreign language, ... Life would be much easier for him if this world had only one language.

"I... Can do this." Len said to himself, his hands now on the stirring wheel. The engine was still on, so, all he had to do was stir it back to the shore, ... Right? It could be worse, he could be stranded in the middle of the ocean _without_ a boat. Following his instincts, he tried to turn the fishing boat around and away from the death ship full of psychopaths and fools.

To his surprise, it didn't take him long to steer the wheel to the right direction. He just had to balance it out, keep both his hands on the wheel, and calm down. Len figured that would be a great time to think back, again, and recapped what just happened to him the past fifteen minutes.

Kaito confessed, the passengers wanted to die, they were invited and he was paid, along with the other sailors, that he was a paid assassin. Thinking back, Kaito had always have traits of an assassin. His combat skills, his keen eyes for information, and how he could get hands on weapons. Moving on, Kaito pushed him off the ship, and for what? Was it coincidence that moments later he heard gunshots and screams of the passengers? Kaito may be a paid assassin, but if it weren't for him, he'd still be on the ship lying cold and stiff with bullets inside of him.

The sky was clear, but it started to drizzle just a little bit. It didn't matter to him, he was soaking wet. Ah, that's right he needed a change of clothes as well before he catches a cold. Len looked up to the harbor, thinking he was actually going to make it, then up to the sky. He'd heard myths saying when rain falls down when the sky is clear, an innocent person died. Of course Len doesn't believe in those kinds of things, though it's true that many of innocent people had died that day, and he had witnessed them all. Innocent people dies every day, so at that rate it'd rain with a clear sky every day, wouldn't it?

He closed his eyes, his mind clearer than before. The thoughts and predictions to what would happen next can wait, he had to think of what to do at the moment. He needed to go home. He needed to see Rin again, and make sure she never leave his side again...

Rin...

_'Please be safe...'_

* * *

Len knew nothing of how to "park" a boat. The second there was land he could step on, he quickly jumped out. It'd be trouble to be seen with a boat containing a corpse there, so it'd be better for him to run away, somewhere far away. He started to run, looked back for a second, guilt written all over his face for something he didn't do. A moment later he bumped into someone, Len, who had no stamina left nearly fell down to the ground.

"I'm sorry." He couldn't even name simple words in French, again, he wanted to punch himself in the face. Not as hard because it wasn't as stupid as leaving hundreds of lives in a death trap. "I can't speak French, so I.."

"Don't worry, I speak English." It was a blonde woman; she looked around Rin's age or even younger. There were curls on the edges of her hair, dressed completely in black, a doll on one hand and an umbrella on the other. "You look tired, what's wrong?"

"Ah, a hard day's work." The problem was, the day just started for most people, it was eight in the morning. "If you'll excuse me, miss." Len tried to go past her but she blocked Len's way. She treated it like it was some sort of game, when Len went for the right, the girl would block him there. Must... Not... Let out anger... To a seemingly innocent girl he just met...

"Hold my bunny doll!" She forcefully gave Len her bunny doll and smiled. "You know, I want to play with you a while longer, unfortunately, I can't." That "seemingly" innocent girl grabbed a revolver out her gown pocket and pulled the trigger.


	10. 14 Days

*** 14 is a nice song. I forgot, I think it's by Natalie sung by Len. I heard the Rin version in iTunes and I think it sounds real nice... Though that song has nothing to do with the title... Or maybe that's what I want YOU to think.***

* * *

**Chapter 8: 14 Days**

His head spun around, both physically and mentally. Something was holding him up in one place though he felt some sort of force pushing him back and forth, to the sides, a never ending loop. Len finally came to his senses, the cold breeze reminded him his clothes were soaking wet. He opened his eyes, or at least he "tried" to open his eyes. A cloth was blocking his view, tied up around his head. He couldn't move a muscle with both his hands tied tightly to a wooden pole.

What happened? The waves, the force, and how he could faintly hear the rain alongside thunder hinted him he was in a ship. The question was, _how_ did he get there? Len remembered a girl, a seemingly innocent girl who pointed a revolver at him and pulled the trigger. He felt something just below his left shoulder but it was nothing serious, shoulder wound was rarely dangerous. It just sting a little and he doubted it was a bullet which shot him. So... If it wasn't a bullet, what _was_ that thing? He couldn't name what, though Len knew something else was out of place.

"Awake yet?" That familiar voice startled him.

"... Kaito." So with that he knew he wasn't alone in the ship. What, was he back to the death ship with all the passengers there?

"I don't have much time, so I'll make this as quick as possible, as simple as possible for you to take in..." Kaito took a big breathe in. "You met my boss, right? The girl with the bunny doll? There's a chance that she might do something... Bad to you within the next fifteen minutes."

"Why do you sound so calm?" He didn't like where this was going, it felt like execution day all over again. Kaito wasn't untying him, or helping him, he might actually _die_ within the next fifteen minutes. "What, are you going to kill me?"

"Shhh questions later. Whatever happens in the future, just..." Len felt Kaito sliding in something to his right pocket. Some sort of box, he was hoping for a weapon though other than a knife he couldn't picture any weapon in that small size. "You can't escape from this, so please, whatever happens after this just try and keep calm."

"I'm tied up to a pole, my friend's boss might kill me the next fifteen minutes and you're telling me to keep _calm_?" Technically though, Kaito was "somehow" correct. He shouldn't be panicking like that, his mind can't think clearly if he's panicking. Still, everything was going too fast for him to actually "calm down", it's natural for him to feel that way, right?

"Shhh, be quiet! My boss is a bit angry that you killed some of her men and how you destroyed our supply of champagne. A co-worker of mine forgot to bow at her and she cut his finger off, I've no idea what she has in mind for you." Kaito untied Len's ropes and pulled him up, his blindfold still on. "Don't take the blindfold off."

"Why are you letting me go? Are you taking me to that boss of yours?" He couldn't run away, he couldn't hide, it really was hopeless for him to resist. Why did he _have_ to be in the middle of the ocean? His mind raced for plans of escaping, but he found zero results.

"Be a good boy and don't resist, please?" Kaito took his arm and led the way. Len heard a door creaked open, it was a storm out there and Len had a little trouble trying to keep his balance up.

"Do you really want me to die?" Len didn't want to die just yet, and even though he said to himself he lost all his trust to Kaito, it didn't change the fact they "were" friends in the past. Friends don't just give up and see you die like that, right? Former friends? Kaito seemed to be the only hope there in the ship. It'd look pathetic for him to beg for mercy for his life, still, it's better than actually dying.

"I apologized once, I don't need to do it again." They stopped and made a turn. Len wasn't sure why he was taking notes of that, it's not like he'd want to go back to the room he was tied in anytime sooner. "You're a talented one, and maybe she'll make use of you somehow."

"Would that be a good thing?"

"Either way there are two possibilities. One, you could either die in a way you could never imagine. Two, you could "help around" and do some "work" with us." Kaito stopped walking. "Do you think I _wanted_ to do this?"

"If I could make a decision I'd choose the first one." He found it hard to believe that Kaito chose the second option, then again, he wasn't really sure of Kaito's background as to how he got there in the first place. Len never knew where and when he trained to be such an assassin, it couldn't just "happen" like that.

"_Her_ choice to make, it's not _your_ decision. Anyway, you should know that my boss, or your soon to be boss, that she... Has a split personality. I told you before, just keep calm while you talk to her. If she tells a joke, just laugh and..." He finally took Len's blindfold off, and opened the wooden door just in front of them. "May luck be with you."

Len hesitantly entered the room, his eyes still adjusting to the brightness; in front of him was a relatively long and small wooden hallway. Kaito closed the door behind him and followed behind, sometimes he would still be off balance here and there, though the condition of the ship wasn't _that_ serious. Eventually the hallway reached a dead end, revealing another door. Len guessed that door was the one. He looked back at Kaito, his expression still blank, then back to the door knob; with a big gulp he opened the door. He either had fifteen more minutes to live, or fifteen minutes left of freedom.

He saw her at her desk doodling, the doll just right next to her. The room wasn't all as fancy as he thought it would be, considering she was a girl and she was the _boss_. It's no different from the servant's lounge only that room was just smaller in size. She looked up to see him and she gave a bright smile on her face.

"You're finally awake!" The girl stood up and put her pen and papers aside. "Sit down, we need to talk." Her tone was still friendly, and in a way, cute. Something most people would underestimate, but considering the circumstances he was in, Len didn't want to take any chances.

Len did as she said and sat down, he took a quick glance back to see how Kaito was doing and his face was no longer a blank expression. He was, what Len would call, his "usual self". All smiling like the idiot he was.

"Are you hurt? I'm sure I pointed somewhere just above your heart." She played with her doll's ears.

"I'm perfectly fine." Since the atmosphere was so cheerful, cute, and happy he figured he should do the same. He doubted whether he could fake everything since he felt nervous, and he wasn't sure what type of person Mayu really was. Can he read emotions and lies as good as Kaito? It's still worth the shot to act.

"Oh, I almost forgot! You know we haven't properly introduced ourselves, I know all about you but you don't know who I am. Still, I think it's a great conversation starter, you should go first!" Len twitched in the inside when she said she knew all about him (from Kaito, maybe). He really was at a disadvantage at the table.

"My name is Len and I work as a detective." There was no point going through in all the details since "she knew all about him".

"Well that was short! My name is Mayu and I guess you can say I'm the boss of this ship. I tell people what to do, I accept requests on behalf of this ship, I..." She leaned down closer to his face and deepened his voice. "Recruit people."

"That sounds lovely." Len went on with the conversation, trying to be as "friendly" as possible. Mayu sank back down to her chair and played with the bunny's ears again.

"Isn't it? I love my job, and I especially _love_ helping people!" Her smile faded and it turned to a frown, surely everything would go downhill from there on. Len prepared himself for the worst and waited until the pause faded away. "Not too long ago one of my biggest business partner's company suddenly... How do you say it, collapsed? Burnt right down to the ground."

"That sounds horrible."

"Do you have any idea who would have done such a thing?" Her frown was gone, but Len knew that wasn't the end of it. "For the name of science, one of my biggest business ties asked me to collect some people, they pay us such a big price for so many years and everything ended just like that a month or two before."

Len couldn't comment anymore, he knew the position he was in. He'd say "that sounds horrible" though he wasn't sure if that could help him there in that situation. She did ask her a question, and even if she knew the answer it'd be appropriate to answer it anyway.

"I'm sure the person you're talking about is me, and I apologized if that made you sad." Telling lies have never felt so disgusting for him. For some reason though, Mayu started a small chuckle, which eventually turned into a laugh.

"Ah, Kaito, it's nice that you gave him tips on what to do when he meets me. You can drop the act now, it's fine." Her laughs calmed down, still smiling, she continued. "I can see you have potential, killing hundreds in a matter of weeks, **alone**."

"That's not something I'm very proud of." Should Len really follow her? It could be a test, and if he offends her in some sort of way that won't be good.

"But it _is_ something to be proud of!" She stood up again and grabbed Len's two hands. "_You're_ a detective, _you're_ smart, do you know where I'm going with this?"

Len nodded, he knew exactly where the conversation was going. Mayu wanted her to join this ship of hers, traveling all around the world to kill hundreds of people. Kaito warned him earlier, he wouldn't be given a choice, she would choose it for him. Len thought about that for a while... How exactly could Mayu "choose it for him"? By a threat?

"Think about it! Sailing the seven seas, don't you think that would be great?"

"Why do you even bother asking me?" Len pulled his hands away from her. He thought Mayu would at least be a bit upset of that, but her expression was still the same. "I don't _want_ to kill."

"Didn't you kill three of my men a few days ago though? And really, you lost your hand from killing, right?" She got him there. Mayu didn't give him a chance to give a comeback, she could read his face just fine. "Once you start, you can _never_ stop."

During the brief pause, for some reason Len just couldn't speak. He wanted to give his comeback, but he just couldn't put his mind together, her words made him think a little bit. He'd be lying if he said she wasn't right, he thought it was true. Why exactly was he hesitating?

"So? Are you going to threaten me to join?" Len wasn't prepared for the worst just yet, in fact he wasn't sure what his answer would be if Mayu threatens him. Would he say yes to the offer if his life was in the line? He probably would decline and die in a way he could never imagine. Would he say yes to the offer if someone else's life was in the line? Rin's life?

"Hnn... I don't think I have any threats available. Your mansion? Your life? Friends? Hahah, I'm sure you don't have many friends. Kaito help me out here." Both Mayu and Len turned to look at him. Kaito shrugged as a response. "What to use as a threat, hmm... Oh, I should just ask _you_ then! What gives you spirit and energy to wake up in the morning? To actually go through life? Most people would say friends and families, but you're not that close to your father and you lost your mother when you were small. What is it, then?"

"Do you really think I would tell you my Achilles heel?" Len tried to hide his sigh of relief, it didn't look like Mayu knew who Rin was and how she mattered to him. On the other hand, his own life seemed to be on the line there. If he at least "pretend" to say yes, would he be able to escape? Kaito managed to do it and if they put their heads together there was this chance of them _surviving_.

"I believe no one in this world is perfect, so there must be something!" Mayu put her hands on her lips, she seemed to be in deep thoughts. She walked around in circles around the room, every step making Len want to... Pull out the revolver on his left pants pocket and shot her to death. Look at how vulnerable that brat was! It's never good to underestimate, but they were in a room deep in the part of the ship while a storm was happening outside those walls, everyone should be busy, shouldn't they?

"Maybe you're just like me, you're the heartless type." Still circling around the room, she sighed in disappointment. "And just a few days ago you lost someone who I thought was really important to you."

"What are you talking about?" She raised an eyebrow at Len's response to that. For a second there was a faint smile on her face which made Len shudder a little bit on the inside, that smile disappeared, overlapped by confusion.

"Don't tell me you haven't told him yet!" Kaito said nothing and looked away from both glances. "What a friend _you_ are. That's good I guess, it means I could tell him the big news!"

"The night you killed three of my men who worked so hard and loyal to me, I was really upset. To make it "even" I thought, maybe I should do the same to you and your assistant who worked so hard and loyal to _you_." She'd stopped circling around and went back to her desk, Mayu went under it, as if trying to find something. "_You're_ a detective, _you're_ smart, do _you_ know where I'm going with this?"

"Oh, and Kaito, please be a dear and hold him off before he pulls his revolver out. In fact, I can't believe you didn't confiscate that in the first place!" Mayu said, still searching through her desk. He took Len by the shoulders so hard his fingers were crushing his soldiers.

"Is Rin really..." Len wasn't sure why, he just couldn't believe Mayu like that, his hands reached his left hands pocket. "The fact that you didn't tell me about this... I won't, I can't believe you two like this without seeing it with my own two eyes, right?"

Denial.

The first step on responding to someone's death, you just wouldn't accept it. Why? Len knew what it felt like to lose someone you truly care about, of all the memories his brain can store, he had an eidetic memory when it comes to his worst memories and nightmares. He refused to believe it, surely they were messing with his head, it was a trap! She still wanted him to join, right? Mayu was just shaking him and Kaito was a part of the act, to make it more realistic, right?

"Why are you so _quiet_?" Len asked the same question once, years ago. A flashback took him back to the day he heard the news, his father had no easy way to tell him and... Len denied it, being the little kid he was it was natural to feel that way. Age had nothing to do with deaths, it'd still bring sadness and shock regardless of age, he was just fooling himself, to what he thought was self-comfort. Half of him thought it was true, he hated to admit it, and he refused to admit how it's possible. He... Wanted to let the steam off his head, who's fault was it that he was angry, and worried like that? Of course, the girl right in front of him. The perfect time, and the perfect place, was then.

Kaito's grip on his shoulder was nothing, he pulled out his revolver, and with that, pulled the trigger. Then again, and again, and again. He missed all the four shots and he had no bullets left. Frustrated, he threw the revolver to the floor.

"Oh, Kaito? Why didn't you hold him off like I asked you to?" Mayu finally found what she was looking for and stepped closer to the two men.

"He was underestimating you and I just wanted to show him that." It was such a close distance, from Len's fuzzy point of view Mayu didn't look like she was moving or was she even dodging the bullets.

"Well, this is the end of the line for you." She took out what she was trying to find earlier, a shot. "Death is _nothing_ to be afraid of once you have nothing else to live for, so it's a good thing I took away your will to live first, right?" Mayu injected the shot to his arm, it sting, though... Len was sure he would die on the spot right there. No, he was still living and breathing, it didn't hurt, it was an ant's bite.

"As of this day, hour, and second..." Mayu looked at the clock on the wall. "You have fourteen days left to live."


	11. Revival

***Chara deaths. This is a detective story with... Lots of deaths involved, but, I won't kill a big character without a reason. And, since this is a Len-Rin story (yes I'm talking to _you_ Mitsu) I "have" to make them end up together. Things'll work out somehow, or maybe they won't. Either way, just a mini spoiler, one of the two'll make it out "alive". Hahah quotation marks. Don't you just "love" them? ***

* * *

**Chapter 9: Revival**

Kaito knocked on Mayu's door and waited for her answer. As he waited for her to answer he reviewed the papers he had on his hands, with the heading "List", he wrote the name of seventeen people on the paper along with photographs, alibis; in a distance it looked like any other documents a man of his age would carry. The truth was those three sheets of papers held the lives of many, their fate on the next two weeks. Or whenever Kaito felt like doing his job.

"Come in!" He heard Mayu say and he entered the room. There was a large box on Mayu's table, so large it nearly covered her whole face from Kaito's angle. "Could you please be a dear and pass me the scissor on the bookshelf there?" Kaito did as she said and went for the scissors, before he could though, he heard the box ripped open. When he turned around, Mayu already ripped open the box with her hands.

"Too slow!" She grinned. "Is that your list? Lemme see, lemme see!" She went over the list and peeked over to see what was inside the box. To his surprise, there was a box within the box.

"What's in the box?" From the grin on her face, Kaito knew Mayu was too happy to see his list so he was on the clear. She wouldn't like it Kaito had chosen too many easy targets since he'd slack off from it, and she wouldn't like it if Kaito had chosen many hard targets, since that way everyone else would slack off with "leftovers" of the easy targets.

"When I was still in France someone sent me a package from England, I hope it's what I think it is..." She put the list aside and with scissor on one hand, opened the box. A note with a messy cursive handwriting was at the top, below it was a dress, and they could see books in there as well. "I know I said I wanted evidence but I don't need this much. Ah, newbies."

"This is..." Kaito picked up the note and read it. "Rin's belongings."

"Who?"

"You know, that detective's assistant." Kaito looked over the items in the box, a part of him glad they didn't send any... Body parts or anything like that. "I can't believe you don't even know her name."

"Even the Intel doesn't have many information on her, it's kinda mysterious don't you think? It's like she didn't exist before meeting that lovely dying detective." She speed read some of the books inside, some still had bookmarks in them. Mayu took out a black dress, she smiled when she realized, it was around her size. "Maybe I should wear this dress and visit the detective's cell, just for the laughs. I've always considered black as my color, too."

"I'd go with the ribbon if I were you." There, at the bottom of the box was the one thing that made Rin stand out in a crowd. "It'd kill him in the inside for sure. Though he should be dying "right now", right? I'm not sure what type of shot you gave him yesterday."

"I'm not sure what it was either. I've never used it before." Mayu took Kaito's advice and put her hat down; it was hard tying the ribbon up her hair with no mirror. "But yes, he should be dying. No one has given him food; I keep forgetting to feed him."

"So the reason he's dying right now is because you haven't feed him? No side effects or anything? That's... Very merciful of you." She twitched upon hearing that, something Kaito wanted to see. With that cute pretty face of hers people underestimate her too many times, she uses that to her advantage but she still found it somewhat irritating.

"I'm killing him slowly with paranoia."

"He's not the type. I'm sure he's wondering why nothing's kicking in, though I think he still has someone else in mind." Kaito saw her struggling with the ribbon and decided to help her. He knew nothing of tying ribbons though he'd seen enough to know how to do it. "It's a shame you're going to kill him, he might actually be useful here."

"What? Do you still have feelings for him?"

"You make me sound like gay." He tied it up to how Rin usually would do it to her hair, he can't imagine how angry Len would be if Mayu waltz inside his cell in that attire. He'd probably kill her, or at least _try_ to. "If you think I'm still friends with him I'm going to prove you wrong. I'm thinking of going down to the cell now to torment him myself. Though what should I do, I still have no idea."

"Well, you "used" to be his friend, what would he be angry about the most in this situation and time? Don't worry, I'll brainstorm with you." Mayu, along with many other psychopaths in the world stands by the fact that sometimes death is just not enough. In other words she'd prefer for someone to suffer than a quick death.

"Maybe if I talk about that "girl" How exactly did she die? If I tell him in a descriptive manner I'm sure he'd just commit suicide on the spot there."

Mayu used to tell stories, gruesome stories on how different cultures and groups used to kill, obtain information, etc. In fact she still does, just the other day while she was in Asia she told a story of how soldiers tried to "obtain information" by torture. In one country, they would make the victim bite their own tongue, choke on their own blood, until they die either by shock or blood loss because the victims wouldn't "speak up". Kaito wasn't sure how she knew those facts, maybe Mayu just happened to saw someone tortured in front of her eyes, he wasn't sure.

What he's sure of though, was that her death penalty was worse than any countries'.

* * *

Day 2, 8:15 PM

The cell was relatively small, you can barely force ten people in the cell, it's something the people in the ship never use. Mayu wasn't kidding when she said she was trying to torture him with paranoia, the cell was pitch black; a single sound could lead the imagination off to the worst. Kaito turned on the lights, revealing Len sitting down at the corner of the room his chin on his knees. Len's soulless eyes hinted him he wasn't so happy to see him there.

"Hey there. I brought you some bread." Kaito stepped in closer to the wooden cell and threw the bread at his direction, though he didn't bother move or catch it, he ignored the bread.

"So, how're you feeling? Come on... Tell you what, if _you_ talk, _I'll_ talk." He opened the cell doors and crouched right in front of him.

"By any chance, does this look familiar?" Kaito waved Rin's ribbon in front of him. Finally showing a hint of interest Len tried to reach it, but Kaito took it away from him. "No, no, you have to talk first. Come on, it's not that hard. So, how're you feeling?"

"Whatever was injected in me wasn't poison, I feel fine, but think I may have a cold."

"I'm sure there's some medicine here somewhere. I'll sneak one in for you later." Kaito gave him the ribbon; he treated it much more carefully than the loaf of bread right next to him. "Fourteen days, huh... Knowing just when you're about to die is a bit scary, huh? Then again, you've been through this already so you should know better. She told me you're the first person to have been injected with that thing."

"It's possible that it just hasn't reacted yet, it's only been two days." Kaito watched as Len wrapped the ribbon like a Band-Aid on his left palm.

"I'll try and see if I can find an antidote, but don't get your hopes up; I don't even know what it'll do. Or what will kill you twelve days from now." There was a brief pause where the two just looked at each other; in the end it was Len who broke the pause.

"Whose side are you on, exactly? You do what your boss been telling you, but you've been helping me too. Which side of you is the _real_ one and which one is the _acting_ one?"

"I have no obligation to tell you."

Hearing that, Len growled under his breath.

"Oh you poor thing." There was no sympathy in that tone; in fact there was a hint of mockery there. "If she's still alive right now would you still be as lost as you are right now? I had a talk with Mayu earlier, and she told me in full details what happened to her. Do you want me to tell the story?"

"Are you here just to mock me with that?"

"Rin and her friend the inn keeper, Miku, were taken to one of our base. Knowing how Rin is, I'm sure she's shocked with prisoners, corpses, and murderers all in one place; it's not a pleasant place to be. Because a part of me still has a human heart I'll skip the part where... They were treated badly. Heads up though, Mayu might come down here and tell you what happened herself. Miku died first. Everyone there told Rin she committed suicide just to make her feel guilty." Kaito left the wooden cell and locked it again; he left the lights on not caring what Mayu would say later. "And that's the end of the story."

"... What happened then to Rin?" Not that Len wanted to know, but a story couldn't just end like that.

"I don't know."

"… You don't know. I found that hard to believe. Your boss seems like the type of person who enjoys details."

**"Well, I can't help it. What I just told you hadn't happened yet." (Beta's wish, Author questions why this line is here. Stop staring at this line, move on.)**

"Well, I can't help it. Chances are she's still held captive now."

* * *

Day 3, 4:15 AM

Sneaking inside your boss' office is never a walk in the park; if things come to the worst for Kaito he'll face something worse than death. The room was never locked; it's always been like that in any of Mayu's rooms, even her bedroom right that second. Maybe she knew no one would be stupid enough to risk their lives on coming inside in the first place.

'Where did she put that... Substance?' Kaito went to her desk and searched through the drawers. He remembered the color of the liquid was crystal blue, he found it a bit shocking how there were a number of test tubes in the upper drawer, all different in colors. 'What is she, a chemist? I never knew she was obsessed she is with poisons and compounds, and I've only be gone from this place for less than a year.' Kaito wondered what'd happen if all the test tubes inside that drawer break would it cause a big acidic explosion? Why would she put them in there in the first place? It'd be an amusing sight, but maybe not so for everyone in the ship, since they're in the middle of the ocean.

'...Is it this one?' For once in his life, Kaito didn't think through things, through his plan. The plan was, he'd take the substance with him and "experiment" with it, surely Mayu would realize it if the substance was missing, right? She'd suspect something is wrong, and of all people, since he, and Len were the first few people who'd seen the substance, he'd be the prime suspect. Unless he established an alibi and blame another sailor...

He had around four hours until Mayu wakes up, that was her daily routine. Kaito slipped the substance to his pocket, along with the syringe in, and left the room. First things first, he needed someone to take the blame for him, say it's an "accident", and he'd be on the clear.

"Hey, can you do me a favor?" Kaito grabbed a sailor who passed by him. "I want you to close your eyes and count to ten. No questions, let's just pretend we're playing a game of hide and seek."

"Wh-"

"I have a higher rank than yours; you should be quiet, close your eyes and count to ten." Technically there were no ranks in that mini guild; they only had one boss to organize the whole thing. Even so, everyone knew who Kaito was, and how in a way, he was in a level far higher than them.

The sailor had no other choice and did what he said. Kaito swiftly prepared the syringe and tried to remember how much dose did Mayu gave Len, it shouldn't be over ten millimeters. He had to speed up the reaction, he couldn't wait for fourteen days! He needed to know the result within hours, better yet minutes! Kaito filled in the syringe full, leaving no drop left from the test tube and inject the "innocent" sailor the needle in.

"Sorry. Someone has to take the blame and I don't want to die today."

* * *

Day 4, 01:55 AM

Len couldn't remember the last time he had a cold; the headache was really getting to him. Though the memory was blurry, he remembered he had a cold when he was just a child. His father told him thousands of people had died every year thanks to a mere cold, and his mother yelled at him for not being the best comforter in the world. It was possible for him to die before his fourteen days were up, his clothes were still soaking wet, and even though sleep is one of the best medicine there is to most sickness, he couldn't bring himself to sleep. Laughter is the second best medicine out there; unfortunately he couldn't bring himself to smile in his current condition.

When he heard Kaito say Rin was still out there, alive, he felt happy and relieved... Though it only lasted for a few moments. Just the thought of her being cold and alone, much like the situation he was in right now, he couldn't be happy about that fact. Not to mention someone who treated her as a sister passed away, it's too much for her to bear alone. Amidst everything that happened to her, was she still expecting him to save her from everything?

The door creaked open and Kaito went inside, he brought another loaf of bread with him and a drink as well. He was surprised to see him awake and Len could see that, but he didn't say a word to it.

"Eat up, I brought medicine with me." He unlocked the door to the cell, and realized something about the cell was off. He looked down to see scratches at the bottom, and a hole on the lock. _Without_ the keys he could enter and leave the cell, and in other words, Len had somehow managed to pick the lock to the wooden door. Something he wouldn't have bothered doing if Kaito hadn't told him Rin was still alive.

"Would a change of clothes be too obvious? I won't recover if I keep wearing this." Len gladly accepted the loaf of bread and began eating it. "If we arrive in six days, it means I still have four days left to free Rin, right?"

"Not exactly, we'll make a few stops here and there, you'l- _we'll_, have two days left to do something about it. Right now the only thing keeping her alive is Mayu's order, and she's only doing that because our Intel doesn't have information about her." Kaito leaned to the cell's wall, and eventually slid down and sat right next to him. "We should come up with a plan or something."

"I don't have much time left, you know that. And even if we made a plan to get her out..."

"Let me guess. 'Even if Rin's free, you wouldn't be there with her', is that what you're thinking?" It was just a guess, Kaito knew Len wasn't that selfish. "I'm not a chemist, an alchemist, or a miracle worker, I don't think I can come up with an antidote. And earlier today... Let's just say I tried out the 'poison' to someone, and the effects were..."

"I can't believe you used someone else's lif-"

"Well I don't want to tell you what'll happen on the fourteenth day. That person died, but the main reason wasn't because of the drugs, Mayu threw him off board since he was 'caught' in her office _stealing_ some things." And that person could've been him if he hadn't framed someone else. "Whatever happens later, I'll watch over Rin for you. You can watch Rin and me... From "up there", if you'd like."

"Then, promise me." Len held out his hand. Kaito was slightly surprised Len wanted him anywhere near Rin. He had no other choice, Rin technically would have no one else to take care of her, to protect her. Would Mayu just let go of Rin like that and let her waltz into the police station and report everything that had happened?

"Let me repeat myself." Kaito sighed, Len was really serious on accepting the fourteenth day. "Whatever happens to you after the next ten days, I'll tr-, I'll _make sure_ Rin's safe and sound."

* * *

"Oh, and, I don't know how to say this to you, Len..." Kaito continued. "The truth is, Rin is your sister." Len's eyes widened in horror, however it soon faded because he knew the chapter ended a few sentences ago and it was just the author's way of saying happy twins day.

Notes: The torture thing about... Making people choke on their own blood? It happened on Korea, to be exact when the Japanese invaded Korea a long, long time ago. My friends and I were talking about dreams, and somehow the conversation turned to... Torture, for some reason. And one of my friends mentioned those soldiers would make them bite their tongue. My response was, "WHAT?! So, the soldiers BITE their tongue? Isn't that KISSING?! What if they're both GUYS?!" and he was like, "No, they make them bite their OWN tongue!"

...

So, why didn't Mayu just "say" Korea and Japan? Because she feels like it pfffft.


	12. Story Telling

***I'm happy a lot of people got tricked in the Twins Day thing. Well, Rin and Len's birthday is just around the corner phew... 5 years, huh. They grow up so FAST. T_T ***

* * *

**Chapter 10: Story Telling**

Day 6, 11:45 PM

"I brought you some food~" Kaito entered the cell and turned on the lights to the room. Len, who was still sleeping shielded his eyes and grunted as he sat up. "Sorry, I thought you'd be awake at this time of day." He settled down next to him, he wished he could give him something other than bread, but it can't be helped; it wasn't a first class cruise there, and even if there were it'd be hard to sneak in plates of food in a cell, a simple loaf of bread is easy to sneak in.

"Thanks for the food." Len started munching on his food when he noticed Kaito's eyes were fixed on something. Something that Kaito gave him on Day One, something he thought was some sort of box turns out to be an ordinary leather notebook, with a pen clipped at the side. "My cold is better now, I should be better by tomorrow or the day after. Really, you should have given the towel for me to dry off days before."

"So, you've been making use of that?" Kaito ignored the question, and tried to reach for the notebook; Len blocked him and slid his notebook on his pocket. "I don't even need to read it, I'm pretty sure it has poems of Rin in it saying you miss her, how you want to kill Mayu, things like that, right?"

"No, I don't write poems. I write what I feel like writing because that's all I can do in this damp cell." Sure, he wrote things about Rin in his notebook; it couldn't be helped, he can't get her out of his mind, but they're still _not_ poems. "Anything interesting happened today?"

"I heard there was a thief on the kitchen. Any idea who?" Len stopped munching as he heard that for a second, though he continued eating anyway. "Don't play dumb with me, I saw you twitched."

"There should be nothing wrong with me on stealing a few things." He knew the conversation would go all long and serious so he stopped eating and put his loaf of bread on his lap, saving it for later. He'd wanted to talk about the matter with Kaito six days ago. "To be fair, they stole my freedom."

"Did it occur to you that if you get caught you won't make it shore in one piece?" From the looks of it, Len didn't seem to care about the problem at all. Kaito knew he wasn't the type that would do careless things without any good reason to it, so he must have a plan... What kind of plan is it which involved stealing bread?

"The missing loaf of bread and marmalade isn't the main objective to why I left my cell." He revealed a small notebook; it was rather thin that he kept it the whole time under his shirt. The book was colorful, bound by a red thread; in a way, it looked a tad bit familiar to Kaito somehow. "Do you know what this is?" Len handed him the book and gave him time to speed read through the pages. The second he realized what that book was, his eyes widened in shock.

"You _stole_ Mayu's diary?!" He was so startled by it he couldn't keep his tone low, he had to shout at that. "A normal girl would be angry to hear this, but Mayu's another thing! Another _sick __**psychotic **_thing!"

"She won't realize it's missing, the latest entry is January 1890, I'll sneak it back up later."

"No, no, no, you're not going to leave this cell until we reach shore, which is still eight days away. I can't guarantee your life if you keep leaving your cell and take big risks like this!" Kaito sighed out of frustration. "Why did you steal this thing in the first place?"

"I knew you'd refuse if I ask for information. Before I die I need to know more about her, it's one of the list of things I want to solve before I die!" The last time Len asked for information to Kaito, Ship of Fools "happened", it's better to look around on his own rather than asking it directly to Kaito himself.

"Well I have my reasons for keeping things away from you, and they're all... Reasonable reasons."

"Then explain this." Len took out _his_ leather notebook. "Let's start with a simple question that's been bothering me for a while. Of all the things you could've given me, why did you give me this empty book? Of all things that could have been better, like a gun, you chose this."

"Entertainment purposes." He answered bluntly.

"You won't even open up to something like this, something that involves _me_. You expect me to ask someone like you for information about your boss?" Len snatched Mayu's thin diary back from him and put it back where it "temporarily" belonged, in his pocket. "This book is encrypted so it might take me a while to figure this out."

No sooner than later the two began to hear footsteps headed there. The footsteps sounded like heels, and only one person in the entire ship there wore heels. His lovely boss Mayu was headed right for them. Kaito distanced himself from Len, his head raced for alibis explaining what he was doing there, because if the reason isn't strong... He refused to imagine it, really. What was he doing here? "Feeding the prisoner, of course." he would answer casually. Unless she heard the part where he called her a sick psychotic thing, he could leave the cell alive.

His background settled, Kaito asked himself: what was _she_ doing here? The footsteps then stopped followed by the door creaking right open. Mayu showed herself looking "cheerful" as usual; Kaito gave a sigh of relief, she didn't hear a thing. Or maybe, that's what she wanted him to think. There isn't one conversation with Mayu where Kaito doesn't feel like he's in a bomb disabling situation where you have to cut one of the many wires. Pull the wrong wires with Mayu and you're done for.

"Ah, Kaito, you're here!" She greeted warmly and closed the door tightly. It's almost been a week since Len had met Mayu, and he noticed Mayu was never away from that bunny doll of hers, it would always be on her hands, it's like a part of her clothes, since from his point of view the color matches well. "Another" thing he noticed about Mayu was how in the past six days she never visited him on the cell. Kaito told him "heads up", but she never came down to meet him. Was she the type of person who would come down without any reason?

"Just came here to give him bread, I guess I'll leave you two alone, then." Kaito said cheerfully and quickly left the cell, when Mayu took him by his right shoulder, which she gripped tightly, very, very, tightly. Her fingernails was sharp enough to leave mark on his skin. Do all girls have those fingernails that? That wasn't his main concern, he'd seen Mayu's nail polish before, she even mentioned it herself that there was a snake venom inside the cute magenta nail polish. "Do you still need something from me?"

"Yes, I want you to get something from me. I have this colorful book just below my desk, and it's bound by a red thread. Please be a dear and bring it here to the cell." Mayu let go of her grip, satisfied to see Kaito's reaction to that point. Even though it lasted only for a minute, she could see it from his eyes, and his throat too, he gulped upon hearing that. In the end, she just wanted him to admit it. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'll go get it in a minute. Anything else you need?"

"That's enough, take your time though! I just want to spend some quality time with prisoner number 1." Kaito gave a small nod before he left and Mayu turned to Len. She looked down at the wooden bars holding him there, holes, and scratches everywhere. "Really, I'd be more surprised to see you _not_ doing anything. I was sure nothing sharp should be in your cell, how did you do that?"

"I find things here and there." Len refused to answer in complete details; he wanted to be as vague as possible. He was following her strategy, he wanted to be underestimated. In other words: strike when the least expected. "What are you doing here?"

"Hnn... I've been meaning to visit you, but I'm just so busy with paperwork and everything. This is past my usual bed time; I thought it'd be okay since it'd rain tomorrow morning. Nothing like sleeping through the rain, right?" Mayu tried to find a comfortable way on sitting down; she tried sitting cross-legged but her dress was in the way, crouching down wasn't an option that'd be un-lady like of her with such knee-high dress, so she decided to stand instead. "Anyway, can I ask you a favor?"

"What is it?" Len raised an eyebrow, he was curious on two things. One, "what _is_ the favor?" and "why does she need his permission?" He's a prisoner trapped in a cell, he'd do it anyway without her asking!

"Take your pants off." She didn't bother to take the keys to the wooden bars, she entered anyway knowing Len broke the lock. Len stood up as she took a few steps closer. "Or I'll take it off for you!"

"_Why_?" He knew if he did any self-defense or even try to run away, Mayu would be ticked. Then again, if he does nothing... "What? If you want your diary back, just say it!" Len took her diary from pocket shirt and gave it to her, which she gladly accepted.

"Saying 'take your pants off' sounds more exciting, right?" She added with a grin.

"Exciting, huh..." He was expecting some sort of punishment, something everyone in the ship refused to imagine, but she was just grinning there on the spot. "Aren't you angry with me? That I took your diary?"

"Now that you mention it... I was a little worried, and I'll forgive you for it if you tell me one thing." Wow, Len shouldn't have 'mentioned' it. "I knew you escaped from your cell, I knew it was missing and everything, you were my prime suspect. Now, why did you steal it in the first place?"

"I want to know more about you." In a different time and place with different circumstances and atmosphere, that line would actually sound like some sort of pick up line. How else could he have said it?

"Awww..." She pinched his cheek out of "cuteness" and sighed. "You could've asked, I love telling stories! In fact, let me tell you a story about the time I was touring Asia." Mayu leaned her back on the wall and started her story telling.

"I visited a village, in a country's name I couldn't remember, it happened just last spring, if I'm not mistaken. While I was strolling around, I noticed a... Let's say, "black market", so I entered the place. There, I saw a man carrying a baby, let's pretend my left hand is the man, and this bunny doll is me." She started to move her doll and her left hand around like puppets. "I said to the man, 'what an ugly baby you have! I thought all babies were cute!'. He was fine with it, for some reason. So I asked again, 'Is that your baby?' instead the man ignored me! I was really angry at him so I told a few of my men to arrange an accident for him."

"Moving on, a lot of people were carrying ugly looking babies in the "black market" I was in. I asked another man, 'excuse me sir, am I in the right place? I'm supposed to be in a black market but everywhere I go, I only see babies!' That kind looking man thought I should 'see it for myself', so I followed him down the corridor, and entered the room that said 'operation room'. I figured the building was formerly a hospital. Until this point, can you guess what'll happen next?" She said eagerly and waited for Len to answer.

"You were in the wrong building the whole time?" Len reluctantly guessed. "Why are you telling me this anyway?"

"No, no, it was nothing like that! I was in the right building the whole time, the destination in mind was a drug distributing a company, I wanted to be friends with that organization, you see. As I was saying, that kind looking man with the baby led me to an operation room, and what happened was... Come on, guess!"

"I don't know." Or more like, Len didn't want to know.

"Corpses, _corpses_ everywhere. I've never been bothered with the smell of corpses, so I examined it closer. Men in white, with small taints of red in their jackets, doctors with their scalpels and knife, ah, it's a view I've never seen before. So you see, this is how you do it. They kill; mostly children or toddlers, then they use their bod-"

"Enough, I don't want to hear anymore." Len put his hand over her mouth, and Mayu pouted in response.

"Well, what would you want to hear? I know a lot of things, a lot of stories, I'm in a chatty mood so don't waste this chance!" In a way, Mayu was right. Len shouldn't waste the chance on hearing stories. He just didn't want to hear... Those gruesome stories, that's all. "I'll count to ten and if you can't think of a topic I'll leave~"

"Tell me the story when you and Kaito first met, and how he became a... _Member_ here." Mayu haven't even started counting and Len was ready with an answer. There were too many things he didn't know about Kaito, and especially about Mayu, and even though he didn't have enough time left (eight more days to be exact), he still wanted to know. "He'll never tell me, I know that."

"It's not an interesting story, but if you say so..."

* * *

## ## 1885

"Excuse me Mayu; I'd like to submit my list..." Someone knocked on the door to Mayu's "office" room three times. "Are you in?"

"Come in, come in!" Feeling rather annoyed, Mayu opened the door and continued. "What's your name again? Lui, right? Have you ever seen a day where I'm _not_ in this room at this time of day?"

"...Am I in trouble?" He asked, desperately hiding his shaky voice.

The first time he entered the room, seven weeks ago, he smirked and commented about the cute colorful decor, so bright with the puffy chairs, pink silk carpets and paintings. A rack full of dolls was hung up just above the white desk, which would be Mayu's seat, and his. Like many other people there, he underestimated her and he had to learn that the hard way. Lui remembered exactly what her boss said that time, "_since this is your first punishment, let's make it memorable so you won't do it again_." He shivered, not wanting to go through another punishment with Mayu in mind ever again.

"You're not in trouble, just listen to my story." Lui sat right in front of her and waited patiently, it's not every day her boss would invite him and talk. He was still trying to figure out whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. "What do you think is the _easiest_ way to rule the world?"

"Uh, in a dictatorship kind of way? Declare war to all the countries?" It won't be easy, wars are a waste of money, bullets, and lives; but he had no other idea in mind. What's with the question anyway?

"Wars are too troublesome, come on, I'll give you a clue. A way to make people think day is night, and night is day." Lui sat there dumbfounded, if he couldn't come up with an answer he'd... He'd...

"I don't know."

"That's what everyone said to me today!" She sighed again with annoyance in her voice. It must be that time of the month for her. "Now I'm in a bad mood, I'm going out for a walk." Lui watched as she left the room, still the same question in his head, why would a fifteen year old want to rule the world in the first place?

* * *

"And then I left my office, I went to a candy store and bought a few sweets." Mayu yawned and rubbed her eyes. "I don't feel chatty anymore, this is past my bedtime... I'm going to sleep..." She stood up; Len, disappointed with the story (the story hadn't moved anywhere!) grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"You haven't told me the full story yet!" She frowned; Len acted without thinking, and he let go of her wrist as soon as he got a hold of her. He remembered the story Kaito told him about someone who forgot to "bow". He was suffering enough in the cell as is. "Have pity on me, I'm going to die in eight days."

"If you're so curious, next time Kaito comes, ask him the same question I asked to Lui and he'll answer for sure." Before Mayu left the cell, she stopped and pondered a little bit. "If he refuses to tell the story, tell him he'll be in big trouble."


	13. A Dinner for Four

*** So, does anyone pay attention to Prisoner / Paperplane's novel or manga? I just found out Kaimural/Kaito is actually girl over the fence / Rin's brother. And I was like "YOU'RE TOO MUCH OF A DEMON TO BE ANYWHERE NEAR RINNY", 'cause he tortures 420/Len in prison. Then again, Rin's dad sentenced Len to death... Wow Rin nice family you have there.***

* * *

**Chapter 11: A Dinner for Four**

Day 9, 12:25 AM

'_Day nine: My condition has worsened today, I'm not sure if the poison has anything to do with it; because **I'm** sure even __without_ _the poison I'd still feel weak. I'm not __**dying**__, but something that could help me calm my thirst and hunger would be nice. Yesterday Kaito didn't drop a visit to my cell, so… Ah, it's no good writing about hunger and thirst like this. In the end I'll just keep on thinking more and more about it._

_Turning the subject around, I tried to decipher her diary entry again. I tried practically everything. They're written in plain "words", only the letters of the alphabets are just... They look like complete gibberish. For example, the first line to the entry is: "!Declare define k = Char('Mih',) define m = Char('Em',)" Nothing made sense in that sentence, at least, for the time being. It looked like some sort of code to me so there must be some sort of method in her writing that I haven't figured out yet. Maybe that sentence is a small part of a whole and I didn't copy the important parts of it? Declare and define... Do they symbolize something? A synonym of something? An antonym to the real meaning?_

_My headache is acting up again, it's no good to force myself to think endlessly like this, and I've been thinking about this riddle for hours now. It's hard to tell time, though I'm good at estimating. The stress is probably the source of my headache, I'm not blaming the riddle because I'm a detective; **I'm** __**supposed**_ _**to** think like this. Now that I think about it though it's been a while since I dealt with a normal case, dealing with cases that wouldn't risk my own life so much, I consider that "normal". I don't count the "case" of the "missing" cat a normal case because... It led me "__here"__. It led both me and Rin here and both of us are at the tip of the iceberg. Rin should be fine, and something tells me Kaito'll take good care of her. It's weird, I didn't trust him a few days ago, and I still have my doubts. If I had any other choice, I wonder if I'll still **trust him with Rin**?_'

Len ended his entry there and read through it again, then he flipped the page and reviewed Mayu's entry. He only copied one sentence (it _looked_ like one sentence to him), just in case he would somehow lost the diary when he first stole it. He felt like he was missing something... That "sentence" was just one piece of a big jigsaw puzzle, he kept telling himself it was better than nothing but what's so good about having one piece of a puzzle, not knowing any other pieces there? In the end, you still couldn't get the bigger picture to it. Len put his notebook back on his pocket, and closed his eyes. His head was throbbing, it was getting annoying.

'Why do I have such a big headache on something like this?' Len thought to himself, his hand touched his forehead and later to his throat; it shouldn't be a fever. 'Maybe if I sleep the headache will go away.'

Just then he heard footsteps, headed to his cell. No one ever passes the corridors down the cell aside from Mayu or Kaito, and since the footsteps were _not_ heels, Len knew who was behind the door, clicking the knob open.

"Hey, Len." Like it's a given, Kaito had food with him. "I'll sneak in a drink later, it's just _impossible_ to sneak in to the kitchen." And that was something Len had to agree on.

"I have a headache though, it'd be nice to drink more water." Len ripped his loaf of bread and began eating it. "Why didn't you visit yesterday?"

"Busy." Kaito answered bluntly. "You should get lots of sleep, you have a headache, right?"

"I was planning to, on the other hand it's not good to have too much sleep either; it'll give you some headache as well." He could see Kaito's eyelids were heavy, he knew he wouldn't be in the mood to talk, but Len can't hold his curiosity in... Ever since Mayu came in and told him Kaito's story, he was curious on what would happen _next_. So Mayu left the candy shop, and, what? Did she meet Kaito on the way out for ice cream? "Can I ask you a question?"

"You can. Doesn't mean I'll answer though, it depends."

"What do you think is the easiest way to rule the world?" Kaito's face stiffened as soon as he heard that, and he had no intention of hiding that face either. Len was using Mayu to his advantage in that situation, if Kaito doesn't tell him the answer he could just say Mayu would finish him on the spot, and that was the truth. "The hint is, a way to make people think day is night, and night is day."

"Mayu... Told you that? Why would she do that?" His voice low, in a whisper kind of level. There was no use of speaking in such of whispery tone, as he said earlier no one ever passes the corridors there except Mayu or Kaito. "..How much do you know?"

"A few minutes after she started the story she ended it there, she didn't even get to the part where you two met, only to the part where she exited a candy shop." From the looks of it, Kaito seemed to recognize the "candy shop", so they must've met somewhere there. "She said if you don't speak up you'll be in big trouble."

"The candy shop, huh..." He gave a sad smile. "If I hadn't answered that stupid question correctly we wouldn't be stuck in this situation."

* * *

## ## 1885

"Acchoo!" Kaito sneezed and tightened his grip on his muffler. Just when he thought he could survive winter without catching a cold, he was feeling somewhat uneasy. Spring should be within a month or so, the snow on the streets would be gone... He'd never been too fond of winter.

It's the only season where he can't eat ice cream.

He was walking through the cold streets, his grocery list carved on his mind. He had to make everything _perfect_. His parents and sister would be visiting his house and he couldn't leave a bad impression to them there. It's been five months ever since he entered university, and they were just worried how he was doing with everything.

As soon as he heard the news from his parents, he had to do some spring cleaning; laundry, mopping up and sweeping the floors, everything dust free. The worst case scenario was, "or else he couldn't continue studying there". His parents have always thought Kaito wasn't the college type and he'd always treated him like a little kid. For goodness sake he was eighteen, he could take care of himself.

'The bakery, maybe I'll pay a visit to the butcher too. Ah, let's see, what's the fastest route there? I'll just take the carriage.' Kaito stopped walking, just in front of the candy store, and asked himself whether his sister would want some sweets. So many things to prepare...

"Of course, the only reason why no one can answer my question is because everyone else is just stupid." A girl walked out of the candy store; Kaito watched as she mumbled to herself. Holding a bag full of sweets she pulled out a gum and started to chew. "I'm surrounded with stupid people."

"Somehow I feel offended to hear that." Kaito commented, she took a glance at him, still chewing her gum.

"Oh, don't feel that way! Doesn't your mother ever teach you anything about loving who you truly are? There's nothing wrong with being so stupid." She shrugged off with a smile. Kaito knew he should just ignore that girl, but if he walks away it'll just look like he's trying to run away from an argument with some fifteen year old girl. "I asked so many people the same question and none of them got it right."

"In this world anything that isn't normal, something that isn't like majority, we call them "strange". So since majority couldn't answer, don't you think there's something wrong with whoever asked the question in the first place?" Kaito added a grin, seeing that little girl startled with the comeback. From that reaction, he thought that girl must be some sort of arrogant princess who doesn't like to get stand corrected. "Try me."

"If you can't answer, you need to treat me all the lollipops that candy store have." She pointed at the candy store, as if the bag of sweets she had on her hands wasn't enough. "If you can answer, I'll give you a prize."

"Sure thing~" Kaito hid his grin, her words echoed in his head. 'If you can answer'. Well, of course he _can_ answer the question! The problem was whether his answer is right or wrong, and that girl said nothing about it.

"What do you think is the easiest way to rule the world?" Mayu added a pause to her sentence, and added her hint. "A clue to waste less of our valuable time: A way to make people think day is night, and night is day."

It was more or less a logic question, he was expecting a general knowledge question. The annoying with logic question to him was, usually the question itself isn't specific. An example of a common logic question is the "logic boat". You have a cabbage, a goat, and a wolf with you and you have to cross a river. You can only bring one of them to the other side, and if left alone, the goat will eat the cabbage, and the wolf will eat the goat. It didn't make any sense to him because a cabbage doesn't weigh a ton. Logic questions... The answers, to him, were up to everyone's own interpretation and on some cases you have to expand the situation / question to answer it.

He crossed his arms and began to think. How was the hint and the question related? So, "a way to make people think day is night, and night is day." in other words, it had to do something about people's mind... Well, if you teach a child that a day is night and vice versa, that child will forever think that way, right?

"The easiest way to rule the world, is by making people think you're the leader. Hypnotism, maybe?" He answered. "If this _is_ the right answer then you _are_ surrounded by stupid people, because that's a real easy question when the hint is involved."

"_Close_, but that answer is acceptable." That girl seemed satisfied. "Should I say congratulations?"

"So, the prize?" It's acceptable, so it shouldn't be wrong.

"I thought you've forgotten about it by now..." She looked at her watch. It didn't even take him a minute to answer, any normal person in his shoes wouldn't forget what she said a minute ago. "Let's just forget about the present, 'kay?"

"Oh, I'm a person who can't forget, you owe me something."

"A person who can't forget?" The girl copied his pose and crossed both arms on her chest, thinking hard. "It's on the tip of my tongue... Oh, that's right, eidetic memory, isn't it?"

"And that means, until I die, your face is written here." Kaito pointed at his head. "Forever. You owe me a present."

"What you should know is that, I'm just a little girl, and I shouldn't trust strangers." She blew a bubble with her gum and she examined him closely from head to toe. "The one hundredth digits of pi, what is it?." Later she took out a colorful small notebook, bound by a red thread, a pen ready on her hand.

"Would you even know the answer? When was the last time I looked up pi numbers? I'm pretty sure it's… Nine." She took notes of that, probably because she wasn't sure of the answer herself. "So, my present?" He asked again.

"Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"I'm going on a little family trip tomorrow, I'll be at the station by nine in the morning so I don't think we'll have a time to chat." Kaito wasn't wearing a watch with him, and he figured he'd wasted some time already. "I need to go too, I have to learn how to cook a proper dinner. It's been nice talking to you though." Kaito was about to set off when she grabbed his arm and later grunted like a little kid.

"It's not every day that I meet someone special like you!" Oh, that was cute. "The present I was talking to you about, I just have a spot opened in a company of mine, and we pay really high wages!"

"I don't think I'm up for a job, I just starte-"

"You said you want the prize!"

"I can't, I h-"

"Come on, take it!"

"I'm telling you I-"

"Please! I've never begged anyone before!" For someone her age, and, for a _girl_, her grip on his arm was really strong. "If you refuse, then I'm going to have to make you forget about me!"

"The only way you can make me forget your face is by making me six feet under."

"Exactly!" That girl was freaking him out. She's just a little kid though, what's the worst she could do? She seemed wealthy, send her bodyguards at her or something? No, she looked like a spoiled one, she'd probably forget about him as soon as she gets home. Eventually her grip loosened, or maybe he was just lucky and her guard was down, either way, Kaito made a run for it.

Looking back, that fifteen year old girl put on a face, the same face a kid would put when their toys gets taken away, only, her face was ten times worse than all of them combined.

* * *

## ## 1885

'Did I get everything...?' Kaito was back at his "house", something he didn't ask for from his parents, but there's no use complaining. It was a bit too spacious for him, though not for long; they'd be there in a few hours. Parents could be bossy sometimes, then again, it is their job to be bossy, isn't it? 'Should I start with the vegetables first?' He had two hours to prepare everything and he was... Clueless, just, _clueless_. It's not that he'd never cooked before, it's just that, he prefers to eat outdoors in restaurants... Because sometimes he feels like... He's just in no mood for doing actual labor work that is **cooking**. He heard the bell rang not soon after and raced for the front door. The guest wasn't someone he was expecting to meet at all.

"What are you doing here?" Kaito asked as he let a girl, around three years younger than her, in. She frowned when she heard such a greeting, something Kaito noticed a second later. "I mean, sorry about that, just a little surprised. Welcome to my home dear sister!" She hugged her sister tightly, and lifted her up in the air.

"You look so... So... Not so different really. It's only been a few months so I wasn't expecting anything." Kaiko, his sister, returned the hug. "What I _did_ expect was, you're not ready at all with dinner, huh?"

"So you came here to help me cook?" He led her to the kitchen, and Kaiko checked the shopping bags, the ingredients he bought, and one unopened cookbook. "Where's mom and dad?"

"I took an earlier train, they should be here around seven thirty. We need to pick them up by then, but right now, I'm going to help you cook." She took off her coat and tossed it to her brother. Kaiko rolled up her sleeves and was ready to replace his brother's place in cooking. "Look how considerate I am, I'm helping you cook! Right now just prepare the dinner table."

"Aye, aye." He saluted and took some silverware out from the drawer. Not good, he should polish them all up first too. According to his biological clock, he should have around two hours to prepare dinner, and he and his sister would leave to the station by then with dinner ready to serve.

Ever since they were kids, the two had always been close to each other. She's the only person he could open up to, and most siblings wouldn't do that, he figured. Sibling rivalry isn't uncommon and most of his friends would be annoyed by their own siblings, though he was just fine with his sister there. He had a little bit of sister complex and would beat up anyone who'd make her cry... Which lead to another memory he refused to recall regarding his sister and himself.

"So, I talked to this weird girl earlier." Kaito started the conversation, still polishing the silverware with a napkin on the dinner table, and his sister... He was chopping up some vegetables, he wasn't sure. "She asked me a weird question, and she said she wants me to work for her. A real good pay, but it's a bit suspicious to trust strangers out like that, right?"

"She was offering you a job, shouldn't that be a good thing? A high pay, that way it won't take you so long to find a good job when you've finished your study." She replied from the kitchen, there was no need to shout since the dinner table and kitchen wasn't all far apart.

"It's like... Let's put it this way. Suddenly a girl just waltz into your life and told you she'll give you a house, some diamonds, anything. If it's too good to be true, we shouldn't trust them, right? It's like saying they found a unicorn or something and you should follow them." It made no sense to him, but his sister laughed at it. "Anyway, anything new with you?"

"Not really, it's just weird not having you home."

"Awww..."

"I'm pretty sure you have your homesick moments!" He admitted he felt that way, just a little bit, on his first few days. "Let's just do everything quick and head to the station, we don't want to make them wait."

* * *

## ## 1885

It was around eight p.m. in the evening, both Kaito and Kaiko were standing just a few meters away from the rail. The train should come arrive any minute, and Kaito was freezing there. He walked back and forth and back and forth just to keep his mind off the weather. Or maybe, the weather wasn't the only problem bugging him.

"This is taking forever... I just want to start dinner already, I'm hungry!" Kaito grunted. "I'm pretty sure mom and dad are expecting me to cook this time though. Then again, I can't say no to a helping hand from you."

"Hah, you're going to take all the credit for tonight's dinner, don't worry about it. I have a plan." She grinned and stopped Kaito from his endless loop of back and forth. "Once the train's arrived I'm going to jump in and "pretend" I've just arrived. They know I took a different train, but if I leave the train, they're going to think I went on this one."

"Why would you want to do that?"

"It's just for fun, can't you imagine their faces seeing me off the train they've been riding for three hours?" The two could hear the train already, it was near. "They're in the front, so I'll take the back. Play along with me when mom and dad ask, okay?"

"Sure, there's nothing wrong with lying to your own parents for entertainment purposes." Kaito had nothing against his sister's little prank, it's just that he wanted her to think out her plan again. She's never been the best liar in the world. "You should head on to the south side, I'll play along."

She smiled upon hearing that and sprinted to the southern part of the station, ready to sneak into one of the doors. Kaito put both his hands on his pocket and headed for the opposite direction. He then figured, maybe he should put on a play on his own as well, take his parents by surprise, treasure their priceless reactions, and slowly lead them to where Kaiko should be on the back part.

'I should hide somewhere...'

The train hit it's break and slowly came to a stop, Kaito hurriedly distanced himself from the rail, wondering where to hide in the station. It'd be easy to blend in with the crowd, but it'd be too troublesome and he could get carried away. The trash can is out of the option even though it'd fit him well with the size, the toilet? He'd end up losing them and they'll think he's "irresponsible". Or maybe, the good old sturdy pillar. He shouldn't think so far, sometimes simple things could be effective as well, right?

He hid behind one of the Roman-esque pillars in the station and waited as the doors opened leading passengers out of the train. No signs of his parents' faces yet, he just can't wait to give a surprise... Which he hadn't figured out. Maybe a sudden bear hug, or he could act out like a thug and shout "give me your money!" out at them, that'd give a surprise.

The problem was, he was so focused on thinking of ways on how to surprise his parents, he ignored the possibility of him being the surprised one. Then, it started. Starting from the front, and to the back row, the roar of explosion burst out from each and every door. Kaito could feel the wind and force of the explosion and impact, his ears ringing as if a bee was stuck flying around his head. The pillars kept him safe, for a brief moment. Everyone who stood close to the rail was blown away and tossed like feathers, everyone who stood in a safer distance began running, panicking, surrounding the train that was already engulfed in fire.

Despite all the commotion, Kaito was still paralyzed behind the pillar; his parents, his sister… He couldn't move a muscle.


	14. Bound

*** So, Len and Rin's birthday's just the other day. :3 So many songs / videos up for their birthday... It makes me happy. In fact I've never been so happy for someone else's birthday XD ***

* * *

**Chapter 12: Bound**

## ## 1885

05:05 PM

"The flower shop near the entrance is closed early today, so I have nothing to offer here. I'm sorry for that." Kaito stood in front of a grave; there his dad's name was carved in the tombstone. The sun was setting down, not much people were there in the funeral that time of day. The grave yard there was a particularly large land, and as far as Kaito's eyes could see, he was the only living man there.

"I'm sure it's fine since other people came in and gave you flowers. Maybe I'll come earlier tomorrow, I don't like visiting here so early in the day to be honest. A lot of people... Were worried about you all, and I just want some privacy. I can't talk like this in front of other people, heheh." He turned to his mother's tombstone, which was just to the right of his father's. His mother have personally never said she'd want to be buried next to her husband, but Kaito knew his mother would've wanted it that way. "That still doesn't change the fact I owe you all some flowers."

Kaito closed his eyes for a second, the memory of what happened that night was played like a movie on his head. So clear, so _vivid_. It's situations like that made him regret having such a strong memory. He remembered the ringing sound, the cries; he remembered everyone's faces in complete terror, the smell of smoke with a tint of coal in the air, all so clear he could just taste it.

"...And of course, we were supposed to have dinner together just a few days ago, remember?" Over the past few days just until the burial, ...No, he was sure it could still happen in the future; he kept having nightmares. What hurt him the most weren't the dreams of his parents' faces covered in ashes, fragments of glass, or blood. What hurt him the most were the dreams which ended in happy endings. What could have happened if the explosion didn't happen; they'd be smiling, they'd eat dinner, chat... And it hurt him because it was impossible for that dream to come true.

"No, even if you two did come, that wouldn't be my cooking. Right?" To the left of her father's tombstone was her sister's. He gave a bitter smile and forced out a chuckle. "I'll improve my cooking somehow. The dinner you cooked that night, somehow became a bit mushy after I heated it up the next day. I didn't have much of an appetite anyway."

"Thanks for the food." He slightly bowed. "It'd taste much better if we ate it together though."

"You're..." Kaito heard a voice, a voice he started to hate so much; though in the end he was more startled than curious of the owner of the voice. He thought he was completely alone there. "Talking to a bunch of rocks."

"The candy shop girl?" As he turned around she gave a smile, as if saying she liked the name. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah, I came to visit your grave, but it looks like you're still standing." She took a few steps forward and gave him the biggest grin he'd seen the past few days. He was surrounded by people who had pity and sadness written all over their faces. "I'll save up the suspense and admit it. It was _me_ who planted the explosive near the train. Not exactly though... I asked some people to plant it _for_ me."

Kaito didn't look so surprise hearing that, in fact he didn't give a reaction at all from the outside's point of view. It was hard to read his face; he didn't look like the type of person who had lost everyone dear to him in one day. Kaito didn't want her to see it. What's the point of hiding how he truly felt in front of that girl though? He was talking to _rocks_ earlier after all; that girl must think he'd lost it.

"Do you want to follow them up there?" She took a few steps towards him and crouched down to read the tombstone. "If you commit suicide though, I wonder if you're going where they're headed."

"Not yet. I don't want to follow them just yet." His voice still in monotone, Kaito patted her shoulders. "About that offer... The one you asked me the other day. I'm wondering if the spot is still available. I'll take the spot if there's one for me, and if there isn't, then I'll use other means to make a spot available for myself."

"Well!" Mayu jumped straight up and hugged Kaito's arm. "Why don't we sit down for a drink while we discuss this?"

* * *

## ## 1885

05:25 PM

They sat down on an outdoor cafe a bit far from the graveyard, it was Kaito who chose the place. He wasn't looking for a particular menu or restaurant, he just wanted to talk with her with lots of customers around. Who knows, everything might actually be a trap and she could kill him on the spot. Even _if _he somehow got killed during the next few minutes of their conversation, at least there'd be witnesses watching.

After they ordered their drinks, they sat outside. Kaito was expecting her to talk of something... A bit secretive. The fact that a "mere" girl like her somehow have access to bombs which killed nearly hundreds of passengers, and one hell of an Intel group who were able to figure out who were his parents and which train they were boarding at the station; that _mere_ girl... She was about to explain everything about her, and she didn't seem to mind every other customers there around her.

"I'd like to call the company I'm a head of, an organization. It's made up of different sectors working together, all working for one purpose. Care to take a guess on what that purpose is?" Mayu started off her explanation. To Kaito it seemed like some sort of business interview so he shouldn't just answer randomly; he _needed_ the job.

"Let's see... Since you treat this company like some sort of business..." Kaito took a sip of his hot chocolate, the chilling breeze outside made their hot drinks more appetizing. "Money?"

"Exactly. We take in requests from a lot of people, and we all do it for the money. The request varies, really. You have someone to kill? You can call us, for kidnappings, drugs, murders... That's the simplest way to explain everything about this anonymous organization of mine."

"And you mentioned an open spot for me. You want me to run around killing people by request?" Mayu smiled for the hundredth time and nodded, she seemed glad Kaito could catch up so fast. That, and compared to the day they met before, she didn't look like she was in the mood to talk for so long.

"You can say that. Or if you'd rather stay behind and away from the battle field, you can always be a strategist. Do you know those cases appearing from time to time in the news?"

"I don't read the news that often. My friend's a detective, a soon-to-be-one anyway, and I've seen a few things... Cases related. I guess." Truth be told Kaito wasn't the type of person so interested in that type of news. And it's not like murders happen every day around his area, the only thing causing deaths around is poverty, hunger and sickness, not _murder_ cases.

"Some cases are done by our strategists. That's what they do; they make puzzles, riddles, and cases." Mayu bit her biscuit and noticed it began snowing. They were safe under the table's umbrella of course, though she didn't like being in the cold for long, so it seems. "Any of the position have interest you so far?"

"I'm not the type of person who likes to sit down on his desk and work; I'm a man of action."

"Great! Why don't I ask one of my men to pick you up tomorrow morning? It's not that far from here, you can board the nine o'clock train... I _do_ advice you to move from your current home though; I don't like it when my employees are late for work." Mayu stood up her hand ready for a handshake. "Thank you for joining us!"

"Thank you for having me." He stood up and took her hand. That girl was smart, _really_ smart; he knew she was someone not to be underestimated. Playing and acting all innocent in front of people, taking people by surprise in the end, the element of surprise is a real twist and he should learn from that. How hard could it be to fake a dumb smile 24/7 in front of people?

"Wow, I've never heard anyone said "thank you for having me" from any of my employees!" Of course, it's _because_ she was smart, that she must knew what he was thinking at the exact moment. To the reason why he decided to join, a smart girl like her should know the answer, but she was letting him in anyway. "This business of ours is a bit of a secret though. Once you're in, I don't ever want to see you out. Unless you're ready to take your own life, the choice is all yours."

"In other words, if I want to stop doing my job, I should kill myself?"

"It's something like that." Mayu let go of her brief business handshake with Kaito and gulped down her drink leaving no more drop left in the cup. It's weird, because just a few seconds ago their drinks were hot as hell. "You look real promising, so I don't want you to kill yourself anytime soon, okay?"

* * *

Day 9, 12:55 AM

"And... Then what? That's when you joined her?" Kaito gave a slight nod to Len's question. "Why?"

"You can't even take a guess?"

"Maybe it's the effect of the drug or something. I can't keep my mind focused on anything but stress." Len put one hand on his forehead, his head throbbing harder by the minute. "So it wasn't an accident?" By the end of the story, that was more or less the only way Len could comment. He knew Kaito's family died from an explosion, but he always thought that it was an accident, not incident. Kaito looked a bit stressed after that, but he always thought that it's because of the sudden loss of family.

Just that and nothing else. Not about how he had to go around killing people, which could be even more stressful.

And he called Kaito his childhood friend... No wonder Kaito kept secrets from him.

Looking at him now, smiling bitterly made him feel hurt on his chest.

"Sometimes I'd tell people I don't have a sister." Kaito had said enough for the day and he just couldn't fight away his sleep any longer. He stood up and headed for the cell's door. With his back facing Len, he continued. "...Just so I could think less about her being gone."

"To avoid conversations, is that it? I feel sorry for your sister." He ignored Len's comment, and Len knew he was true there. The worst way to treat someone who had passed away is to pretend they never existed in the first place. But of course, they're dead. They would never know, right?

"More or less." Kaito scratched the back of his head. "Just try and sleep. You look dead already with that pale face of yours and... How you're just not thinking straight."

"It's _because_ I'm unable to think things clearly that you need to explain every little things to me in detail." Len blanked out for a second again and rubbed both his eyes. "So tell me the reason why you joined her."

"Fine." He turned around and gave a large sigh. "I'm just waiting for the right moment, that's all."

"To strike?" Kaito gave a slight nod and received a frown from Len as a reply. "You're willing to murder hundreds of people to get revenge on _one_ girl?"

"You're underestimating her too much. Maybe she's just "some" girl to you, but it's not for me." He strengthened the word 'me', something Kaito thought Len should understand after hearing the story. "All in all, I've never said I've never feel guilty for everything I've done."

"That's good." Len nodded his head slightly. "Being guilty doesn't help anyone, but it means you have a heart in there somewhere."

"The only way I could leave this place is if I kill myself. If I leave in secret they'll find me, and _then_ they'll kill me. I've been taking requests for years... Until I went pretty much insane three years after I took the job."

"Define **insane**." Taking on the job, killing uncountable number of people, Len counted that as insane. Kaito's version of insane might be slightly different than his, more extreme, probably. Kaito just shrugged however, and instead of defining his version of insane, he started telling his story.

"Back in 1888, I was sick on killing so many innocent people... In fact I've always been sick on doing it. I feel sick when I get new requests, I feel sick when I kill those people, I feel sick when I have that feeling of accomplishment when I finish requests that seemed impossible..." He turned around facing Len, thinking his story telling marathon hadn't end just yet. "So I thought... If someone caught me on the act, the police would catch me _and_ the company. The secret organization wouldn't be secret anymore!"

"I can see your plan didn't work so well."

"Wait, I'm getting there. I started leaving traces, do requests during the day, made sure witnesses were around... And Mayu wasn't really happy to see me doing any of that. I'm not alone in here; there are other workers around who were forced to be here against our will. And I heard from one of my friend that Mayu's planning to kill me. Before she could do it though, I faked my own death and I was finally _free_!" He added a pause there, and sighed. "It's a small price to pay. You've noticed it, right? How I've moved so many times, do so many kinds of work, how many telephone numbers I have... Until she found me just a month ago."

"... Let me get this straight." Len closed his eyes concentrating. "You faked your own death, but somehow got caught a month ago, and you're still _alive_? What I meant to say is... She wanted to kill you before, now; it's as if nothing ever happened."

"Maybe she knows I hate this job and wants me to suffer instead, by the guilt of killing people. Or maybe she's waiting for a moment to strike as well, I guess I'll never know what she's thinking, and the question 'why hasn't she striked yet.' is really bothering me." Kaito stretched both his arms; he didn't know the long talk would make him feel so tired. "Anyway, it's a good and long talk. You should get some sleep now and rest up while you can. We'll hit shore in three days."

"You know we haven't thought of a lucid plan, or backup plans on what we're going to do later."

"We go in, I get Rin, you try and fight the drug's effect, we leave, you die two days after, then Rin and I'll think of a way to survive all of the assassins and bounty hunters out to get us all sent by Mayu." Kaito sounded so optimistic, it bothered Len a bit, specially with his death being part of the plan. "But of course, we'll live through everything. Somehow. We just need to think positive, right?"

Of course, everything was easier said than done.


	15. A Moment to Strike

*** "I want to play a game" ***

* * *

**Chapter 13: A Moment to Strike**

Day 12, 06:50 PM

'_Day twelve: I re-read the entry I wrote from the past few days. For every entry I'd always start with how "my condition has worsened today", and "today" is no different than any other day. I never thought headaches would affect me this much, in fact if I tell people on that hell I surely belong what the cause of my death is, and in this case, "headaches", I'd be a laughing stock. Even now I could see, my handwriting is getting messier and messier, I'm just not thinking straight. If I'm complaining this much over a headache on day twelve I can't imagine how it'd be like on the last day. It's possible that this aching pain would make me forget how to breathe or something. Whenever I blank out... What exactly happens then?_

_I'm growing more and more anxious. If I can't save myself, how can I save other people like this? Even though I've already decided on the plan with Kaito on what to do once we reach our destination (we should arrive by night time.) Kaito would "somehow" try and get Rin out, wherever she was, and he knew Mayu would lock me up somewhere and I need to figure out how to leave by myself. We're "working", more or less alone on this one. The saying "Don't leave a man behind" don't apply here, because as soon as either of us can leave, we leave. We just need to trust each other, though I'm not sure if Kaito trusts me as much as I trust him on leaving. He knew I'm not thinking straight and whatever was injected in me was reacting already. If we both can make it out "alive", that'd be great. It's just, by then I would only have two days left to "live". If we both can't make it out alive then we'll all die._'

Footsteps. A while later Len heard the unique sound of heels, so it could only mean that Mayu was on the way. Maybe she was there to mock him again, she knew the drug was kicking in and she'd probably just laugh at him there. At least, that's what Len thought Mayu would do if he was in her position. He put his notebook away as Mayu opened the door; she greeted him with an unusual smile, something that surprisingly didn't suit her figure. The smile wasn't cute or ugly, it just seemed force. It gives an impression that the smile she put on every day was from her own free will and not as a disguise to act innocent, because that was what Len had always thought it was.

Why would she force herself to do that?

"You look like one of those people who're about to die in two days!" Mayu positioned herself and sat right in front of him, her legs crossed. "How're you feeling?"

"I've been better."

"It's weird; you look like you're really suffering. We're going to reach shore soon and I'm glad I won't to see you running around; I want to see what happens in the last day. You know there are poor beggars on the street out who looks healthier than you." Did she really mean what she said? He still had the strength to think and write so it shouldn't be _that_ bad, should it? "So... What does it feel like knowing the fact that you're going to die in two days?" She showed a grin, a _normal_ grin, a part of her looked as if she was enjoying herself.

"Terrifying." Len said in a blank tone, which didn't convince her at all. On second thought, maybe it would be better if he shows her how miserable he was so Mayu wouldn't give him more things to carry on his shoulders. "I'd rather not think about it."

"What else is there to think about? What it _could_ have been? That'd only hurt you more you know."

"Why would you care?"

"Ah, you know what? Right now, I feel like..." Mayu turned the conversation around. She clapped both hands together and continued gleefully. "I want to play a game! It's called how 'fast are your senses'. I think your little friend played it too before she passed."

"You see these small knives?" Len didn't like where the game was going. Then, it happened again. His eyes were playing tricks again and he blanked out for a heartbeat. He rubbed his temples as he watched Mayu spread out the knives on the floor. There were five of them, and they somehow fit Mayu's dress pockets before. "Basically all we need to do is hit the opponent with these knives here." Len stood up upon hearing that, only to find the knives were nowhere within his reached.

"I can't reach those knives... Should I leave my cell?"

"Of course not! You have your spot and I have mine. If you don't have any more questions, let's start the game!" From the person couldn't even blanks out every so often, Len wasn't sure he could dodge five over five of those knives. "I'll aim for non-vital organs for now, but I'll be aiming the last one up your slender neck so don't let your guard down!" She picked up one of the knives read on the floor and aimed.

"It's like... A game of darts." She threw the knife. If Len hadn't move the knife would've penetrated his abdomen... She did say she'd avoid vital organs, but apparently she didn't care blood loss being cause of Len's death. She wanted him to suffer. The knife stuck there on the wooden cell wall, and that was his chance. Len tried to pull the knife off the wall, with his guard completely down Mayu threw her second knife aimed at Len's left hand.

It was too late to evade the shot; the knife penetrated his skin, not deep enough to leave a permanent scar, though deep enough to make him cringe and fall on his knees, his headache acting up again. Blood was flowing more than he expected, his hand throbbed... And it was only the beginning. He held his wounded hand, his sleeves dyed completely in red. It wasn't a good idea to attack; he should focus more on dodging all of _HER_ attacks.

"Oh, come on! That girl played with two of my men and she could evade all the hits!" Len knew it was a bad time to be lost in thought about Rin, but he couldn't help it. On one side he was furious with Rin having to play the little 'game' like that; on the other hand he was glad Rin could avoid them, but... Really? She managed to avoid _all_ of them?

"She wasn't hurt at all?" Mayu was about to aim for her third knife, but paused.

"They didn't lay a finger at her. The only one hurting her is..." Mayu aimed for his right foot and threw, Len jumped back; almost making him fall over. "_Herself_. The only one hurting that girl is herself."

The fourth knife ready on her hands, instead of bracing himself, Len's mind wandered off, scattered everywhere. Questions like 'What does she mean by Rin hurting herself?', 'Can this girl even be trusted?' Everything distracted him from the fourth knife, aimed just below his left shoulder. Len's response came a little bit late, though he somehow managed to evade it.

Or so he thought. It wasn't as worse as his left hand, though it did pass through him, just a little bit. Len held his now throbbing shoulder and wondered how Rin could face two men with knives and evaded all of them. Or maybe he was just weak from everything that had happened the past few days? He couldn't sleep right, and the bread he was given couldn't enter his stomach fully.

"What do you mean when you said... She's only hurting herself?"

"Can I take a guess here?" She readied the last knife on her hand. It was too early to give a sigh of relief; the game would finally be over..._IF_ he could avoid it. "Is that girl the type of person who puts others' need first before hers?"

"I guess so." As she said in the beginning, Mayu aimed at his neck.

"That makes sense." Mayu opened the cell door and pushed Len aside hard, making him fall over with a large thud. She began picking up her knives and cleaned the ones with blood there, with the edges of her skirt. "The men guarding that girl played a prank on her you see."

"One of them said to that girl... For one bottle of blood she sacrifices, they would release three prisoners held captive there." The knives all clean, Mayu stood up and put all the knives back to the back pocket of her skirt. "Get the idea where the story is going? I think she pitied all of them... That girl was grouped with some children in that mini prison I'd like to call my office building. Maybe she just doesn't want them to suffer and was ready to give herself up to people she just met."

"Scars around her arm... Her blood, sweat, and tears were for nothing because they didn't free them. My two men there killed them or moved them to a different cell. Quite a prank, eh?" Mayu could be lying, he knew that. But why is it that was picturing the worst in his head? It just seemed like... Something Rin would do in that situation. "Do you wanna know how she gave her blood away? Using only a knife and that one small bot-"

He slapped her before Mayu finished her sentence. Len would regret that action sometime soon, but he couldn't help it; talking back at her would cost him his life, but _slapping_ her? Though what he found weird was... How could Mayu have dodged bullets before, but when he slapped her... She didn't move a muscle there. It was too late to apologize and Len didn't feel like he should apologize to her either. He waited for her reaction, she was no longer smiling, but she didn't look all that angry either.

"I can't remember the last time I was slapped and didn't move." Mayu took Len's left hand; his injured hand, and examined it. "You know I like you, a little bit. I'm so nice around you and I don't even know why." Len was having a hard time trying to determine whether she was being nice on purpose or not.

"When you love something, set it free. Maybe that's what you should do."

"Hilarious." She smiled." It's nice to kill some time in here; I think we'll be arriving at shore any minute now. Got any plans on escaping yet?"

"Not at the moment." It wasn't really a lie, Len really hadn't thought of anything. It's just that, Mayu knew he wasn't the type who would sit around like that so she doubted his answer. "I could always improvise somehow when the time comes."

"I'm curious on what you and your friend are planning." Len raised an eyebrow... Could she mean Kaito by that? Well, there was no other candidate in that ship there. "Don't look so surprised. Do you think I'm that stupid?"

"Maybe a little bit."

"Well he was so loyal years ago." Mayu sighed. "Did he tell you the part where he faked his own death?" He gave a slight nod, a part of him glad he could hear Mayu's side of the story to what happened two years ago.

"He grew tired of killing 'innocent' people and faked his death. That's what I think anyway, he did all those stupid things like leaving hints to detectives, threat letters saying who'd die in the next few days; which was supposed to be his list. He jumped over a cliff... We couldn't find his body at all and we didn't bother to look for it very long. Looking back, it was hard to track him. He moved often, he had done more than one kind of job, and even faked his names sometimes." A part of Len thought Mayu looked astonished by what Kaito had done.

"And you recently found him..."

"You can say that. He's one hell of a worker but I think he's becoming a bit too strong." Mayu, who'd, been holding Len's injured hand the whole time, finally let go. She wiped her fingers off Len's blood with her skirt. She really looked like a girl who'd just murdered someone with all the blood on her skirt.

"I heard he's waiting for the right moment to strike." Mayu probably knew that already, so there's no use for Len to hide Kaito's not-so-secret plan of revenge at her. "By making him work here it just gives him more chance for him to strike."

"What he doesn't know is, well..." Mayu left the cell, not bothering to lock it again. "Maybe I'm waiting for the right moment to strike too."


	16. Maze

***Sorry for the late update(s) m(_)m In an unrelated note I had a dream the other night. It had something to do with Rin ripping Len off to pieces, organs by organs. I watched House and Dexter before I went to sleep so that explained the flying organs. ***

* * *

**Chapter 14: Maze**

'What's important right now is to stop the bleeding.' Len said to himself, as he was having a hard time trying to wrap his wound. The only thing he could use there was his own vest.

Then, it happened again.

Everything around him turned black, and for a heartbeat he just _knew_ he blacked out, something he still hadn't gotten used to ye. What happened during every blackout he gets? Len took out his notebook and read through the entries. He didn't want to die yet. Despite his acknowledgement that he could only end up in bad end, he still didn't want to die.

"Knock, knock." Apparently Len was thinking too hard and he didn't even notice the footsteps. Kaito opened the door, wearing his usual cheerful smiley self and opened the cell door. "How are you, my lovely friend?"

"I've been better." He noticed that not only was Kaito wearing his smiley... Face, he looked more than that. He looked far more cheerful than that. "...Did something good happen?"

"That's not important right now, I'm pretty sure you've noticed the ship's not moving. Well, we've reached shore by now. So I need you to wear this blindfold for me, Mayu's orders." He helped him wear his blindfold and continued. "After this we're going to ride the train, it's a two hour trip. That done, we'll ride a carriage up and we'll reach our destination."

"Why do you want me to wear this blindfold? What's there for me to see?" It didn't make all that sense to him. What was Mayu trying to hide? The way to his doom?

"I don't know, that girl's abnormal." Kaito shrugged, Len's blindfold finally on tight. "Once we're there, you'll be taken to a cell. Try and get yourself out and I'll get Rin out somehow."

"Somehow."

"Yes, somehow. We'll live through everything somehow." Kaito pulled him up and led him out of the cell. "If we're lucky enough, and trust me we haven't been real lucky the past week, you might get the same cell as Rin."

"How big is this 'prison' anyway?"

"As big as your mansion, I guess. There are lots of 'prisons' like these; the one we're going is probably the smallest one there."

"I can't imagine how much money you people get every month to keep everything running up so well." The ocean, Len could finally smell them. Being locked up for so long... he smelt freedom. At least the illusion of it.

"More than you could imagine." Kaito patted his shoulder. "You know, if you were well, I'd push you off the ship right now so you don't need to go through what's going to happen next."

"...What?"

"Ah, nothing. You'll be locked up in a coffin up while we're riding the train. Not sure why, Mayu's orders." Kaito said blankly.

"I'll be using a blindfold even though I'll be locked up in a coffin?" It made him want to open his blindfold more. He just couldn't come up with a reason on to why Mayu would want to hide anything from him. He'd die in two days anyway.

"I don't know what went in her head, but frankly I'm too afraid to disobey her. Sorry man."

* * *

Len woke up, his fingers felt all numb. He forced himself to open both his eyes and found himself lying on an empty grey hallway; he hesitated for a second and wondered if he was dreaming at the moment. In the middle of the hallway with no other soul but himself. Where was he? And more importantly what happened? Len tried to stand up and reached for the plain white wall, solid and hard. He started to walk and knock for every step he took. The hallway didn't look like it had an end, at the moment at least. There's an end in every tunnel, nothing is endless. Unless it was a circle.

What was he doing before... In a coffin, he remembered that but he didn't remember 'leaving' the coffin. Maybe someone carried him out the coffin and just left him there? If everything was as "planned" (as Kaito _said_ it would be) he should be in his cell, not in the middle of the hallway. It didn't look like a cell at all; it was just a long endless narrow hallway. If he couldn't find an exit soon, or at least a room, or a door, anything, maybe that really was his cell. Who knows?

'I should put a mark...' Len took his notebook out from his pocket and ripped a small piece a paper from it. He let it fall on the ground... Hopefully he would never see that paper again.

He hadn't noticed anything different from the walls he'd been knocking the whole time, he was hoping for something hollow along the way. All he did was walk in a straight line, and still nothing in sight. For some reason, the hallway there... It reminded him of the hospital he once visited when he was young; he couldn't remember why he was there in the first place, though as his father always say, a hospital is a deadly place, "most" hospitals that is, and that was what his father told him. "Gateway of deaths", "Gateway to hell". The failure rate of surgeries was far higher than successful surgeries. People have more chances of catching an infection, virus, or germs in hospitals. The lucky and wealthy ones would call a doctor to home, while the poor on the other hand have to visit the hospital with not much guarantee of being cured. Len wasn't sure how many times his father told him the hospital 'talk', though for every talk he'd always wonder why people even _bother_ to go there in the first place.

'Why does this remind me of a hospital again...?' Len thought back. Well, some significant differences would be the fact that there were no doctors, nurses, patients, or doors there. 'It's just... Another building yet... It has an aura of a hospital or some sort.' Len took a deep breath... there was a familiar smell, herb? Medicine? Cologne? It was on the tip of his tongue. It was a smell that reminded him of hospitals.

Len stopped walking at the moment and realized something was out of place. Something which he should have noticed earlier. Since the time he woke up, he didn't feel dizzy, his head didn't throb every other five seconds and he didn't black out at all. Would that be a good sign or a bad sign? It might be the end of his head's suffering, but it could be the beginning of something far worse than that.

* * *

With five luggage in his hands, Kaito struggled to open the door knob to Mayu's office. Sure, he could just put down the luggage first and then open the door knob, but life wasn't that simple for him. Mayu mentioned earlier; the second he put down the luggage down the floor before they reached her room, it would explode. Of course that could be just her way of saying "slack off and I'll kill you" but with Mayu, it could actually be true. On his second attempt, Kaito finally opened the door and set the luggage he'd been carrying for over twenty minutes down.

"It's nice to be back home!" Mayu stretched her arms and sat on her chair.

"Do you still need me? Or can I take my leave now?" He made it sound like he wasn't in much of a hurry.

"You can go if you want; you can stay if you want." She pulled out her doll from her pocket and put it on her table. Mayu's office / room, was colorful, that's what she'd always say. Once you step in you have that child-like feeling, like stepping in to a luxurious toy store. Unless you knew who you were really facing, her room wasn't all that scary.

"By the way, have you decided who you would kill? He's in the same cell as that girl, right?" Kaito was a bit forward on that, but he can't help it.

"I thought a bit of a challenge would be fun, but knowing him, he should find his way out just about now. He's in a maze, you see."

"We have a maze here?" He never heard of a maze inside that building... Well, that building was already a maze itself for 'non-workers' there. One room and another (a special exception would be Mayu's room) was completely alike, it was a five story building with over fifty rooms and each of them were completely alike; white walls and grey marble floors with most of the furniture such as chairs or tables made of wood. Other than the fact that every room / hallway looked like an exact copy of itself, there were no signs or marks saying "prisoner room here" or "emergency exit here", even the _toilet_ there had no male / female gender sign.

"I call it a maze, but it's really just our torture chamber for some victims."

"Hnn... Will he be fine by himself?" As much as Kaito would _love_ to help Len, it'd be too risky. He had no idea where the both the entrance and exit were. It exist, he knew that much, somewhere around the building; he just wasn't sure "where" it was. Hell, it was the first time he even knew the maze existed in the first place. "You said you want him live until the last day, right?"

"I'm pretty sure he could take care of himself there." Mayu stayed silent for a moment and looked as if she was reconsidering her own words. "Then again, he should be in the verge of dying, not to mention the wounds all over his body, so he might not make it. Either way, I think it's fun to imagine his moves."

"If you say so." Kaito let out a sigh, he tried to calm himself down, or rather, he was trying to stop himself to panic in the first place. Mayu seemed to trust Len enough, a part of her had faith thathe was going to make it out alive. Did he had enough faith in Len?

"Why don't you stay here for a while, though? Let's make a bet." Mayu pointed the chair opposite to her, as usual it wasn't an offer, it was a command. "I bet he's going to find us and enter this room within an hour."

* * *

Len didn't like where he was headed. At first it was the familiar hospital-like smell, a minute walk later he could sense a disturbing smell in the air, something he knew well of. It was the smell of something rotten and he was close to it. With the rotten smell in mind, there were a few possibilities Len think could happen or had happened there, if what came to his mind first as to what caused the smell in the first place was true of course. Theory number one: he could be in some sort of graveyard; a place Mayu keeps all of her dead victims. Theory number two: it was a trap victims had fallen to and their bodies had been there ever since. If that was true he should turn around and leave, the problem was; there was no other place to '_leave_'. Theory number three: he really was in the afterlife and that hell had rotten smell. That theory was unlikely.

For every step he took, Len felt anxious. The scent became stronger and stronger he had to cover his mouth and nose with his hand. He wasn't sure what made him did it, but Len decided to run, until he finally reached an intersection. The difference between the path on the left and the path on the right was clear at first sight. To his left was a path covered in blood and numerous corpses as far as his eyes could see, blood splatter around the walls, the floor, and even the ceiling, while to his right was a 'normal' path, empty and clean with no blood whatsoever. Out of the two paths, the right path seemed safe, though his instincts cried out the fact that there were more traps there than the path on the left.

It didn't take him long to make a decision, he'd go both of the paths there. First, he wanted to examine the corpses on the left path. He wasn't sure how long the hallway was, but there were at least four corpses for every meter there. Len crouched down on the corpse near him and looked closely. It was the body of a man around his mid-thirties, judging by his attire he looked like a peasant; his mouth was wide open many of his teeth were missing. That man there had lost several of his fingers, in fact he only had four fingers left on his right hand, the rest of his fingers were nowhere near him. Len noticed his skull looked oddly deformed, and found the man's head must've been bashed with something. There were blood on his shirt and pants, though nothing from the inside.

Before he could conclude anything Len went on to check two more of the corpses. The three of them had some things in common: several of their fingers and teeth were missing, they all received a large blow on the head, and they were all men. The only way to judge their background was their clothes; the first man was a peasant, the second seemed to be a noble, and the third looked middle-class. Many things didn't seem in place there, it was odd. There was blood everywhere, yet their wounds didn't seem enough to let out such amount of blood. Where did the blood from the walls come from? And where were their fingers and teeth?

Len had a guess on where he actually was and he didn't like it one bit. It was a trap from the beginning; somebody had put him there (at least that way the 'after life' theory could be crossed out). The blood splatter on the left path was just a decoy; he assumed it was some sort of distraction. The corpses there were victims of torture, and not just 'ordinary' torture, they were interrogated before. It had been done since decades before, the use of tong in interrogation; people would forcefully cut their victims' fingers and pull out their teeth to extract information; in some parts of the world it was common. Whether they gave in their information or not, it didn't matter, they all received a large blow to the back of their head. Of course being a detective, he may mislead and lie to suspects during interrogation, but there were lines he could never cross when it comes down to interrogation.

They weren't interrogated there on the hallway, which explained their missing fingers and teeth. If 'they', the interrogators, had time to clean up their mess with their teeth and fingers then they'd have time to burn the corpses or bury them somewhere rather than taking them all to a 'random' hallway. It was a distraction, 'they' purposely put corpses there and for what? What were 'they' trying to distract him from?

Suddenly, it clicked. He couldn't believe he didn't notice it earlier.

He knew just where to go.

* * *

"So, what will you put on the line? I bet he's going to find us within an hour. Unless he's still passed out then I don't think it's possible then." It looked like Mayu was reconsidering her bet. "Is he awake or isn't he..."

"I have to disagree on you in this one; I don't think we'll be the first people he'd look for. The second you see him you're just going to catch him and put him somewhere else, right?"

"He doesn't have much of a choice." Mayu shrugged. "What do you want to do for the next one hour?"

Neither of the two answered the question, and the first to break the awkward silence surrounding the room was a loud thump on right side of the wall. Kaito averted his attention to the colorful empty wall on his right as the thumping sound grew harder. Mayu frowned and walked towards the wall.

"We haven't even decided what to bet on..." She pressed (what Kaito thought was) the light switch, the wall was a sliding door all along and Mayu gently slid it. Whoever designed the building there had to be given some credits. "There he is!"

It was hard to decide whether it was good news or bad news to see Len again. He was alive and that was great, but he was facing Mayu and that's nowhere near great, it's could never be great. Mayu called that 'maze' earlier a "torture chamber" or something along the lines, though other than his previous wounds and droopy eyes it didn't look like he was hurt or tortured or anything.

"Take a seat there and tell us how you escaped from there." She pointed to Kaito and told him to stand up, telepathically.

"The smell was odd. If I had to estimate everything; the walk from the spot I started, and the intersection where I found corpses was around eight meters or so. The number of corpses there were around twenty, and some had died a week or two before." Len sat down and started off. He tried to be alert as possible around Mayu, he could be killed on the spot right there and then. He didn't like the fact that he had to sit face to face to her. Len was close, _really_ close; he was in the same building as Rin was and he didn't want anything to ruin that chance to see her again. "If the smell of the corpses was so strong I should've smelled it on the spot where I first woke up. There had to be a hole or some sort, a proper air ventilation somewhere around that place, that was the only lead I had and apparently that 'hole' was large enough for me to fit in there."

"I'm pretty sure you skipped one little detail but I'll let that slide. Somehow you ended up here though, you must've heard us talking." Mayu smiled. "Now that you're out, I bet you want to find that girl, right?"

"Yes." Len didn't care if that was an obvious rhetorical question, would she be 'kind' enough to tell him where Rin is and better yet put him in the same cell as she was in one piece?

"One final quest for you, then. Watch closely." Mayu took out a mirror from her desk and stood up; she dropped the mirror to the ground and stepped on them with her heels. All what was left from the mirror was its frame and shattered pieces of the mirror. Len stood up from his seat surprised and confused.

"I want you to return this mirror to its previous form."


End file.
